What's up with you?

[freemonkey]

I ended up in the E.R. anyway. We were going to go to Tacoma this morning, but we decided we should change the bandage, but it was stuck to that flap of skin and then the wound opened up and started bleeding all over again. So we decided to just go to Prompt Care. But on the way there I started getting all sustained woozy and was on the verge of death by fainting. Since the Prompt Care was about 10 miles of heavy traffic away and we were only 2 minutes from the hospital, he decided we should go there before I died of shock or something.

Of course, after I got checked in I was starting to feel normal again. I wanted to leave because ER bill vs. Prompt Care bill.... hellooooo! But he wouldn't give me the car keys.

It was too late for stitches, but I got some nice Steri-Strips, a tube bandage and the doctor squeezed all the blood out of my left hand. Oh, and I got a tetanus/diptheria/pertussis shot. Yay!

Yb, I get hurt all the time and I'm not usually phased, but this one is pretty gruesome.

Sorry about your friend, liv. I hope she recovers quickly.

[lisarea]

Oh, man, that is hardcore! Bloody respek knuckles!



And respek skull fractures to your BFFC, Mr. drusus. That is terrifying.

[Demimonde]

Glad you are feeling better freemonkey. Contra mangled his index finger and thumb cutting mats recently. He put off the doc only to go later too.

Sorry for your friend's troubles liv, I hope she is better soon.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Watser?

Yeah, cheese can be a harsh mistress.

Originally Posted by Watser?'s sig

So, have you surrendered to Mistress Cheese?

[JoeP]

As for me:

Caffeine withdrawal headaches.

Pain, dizziness, confusion. [You mean more than [Stop that! -- Ed.]]

If reducing my caffeine intake doesn't reduce the more persistent headaches I've been having anyway, I'll go to the doc, and when he says "have you cut down caffeine and alcohol and got plenty of sleep?", I'll smugly say "Yes. Your move, MD."

[fragment]

Ouch. I've just started a trial separation from coffee myself, but it's not going as badly.

Good luck with the headaches.

[Sophia]

Just shaved my legs without cream or gel this time and also without nicking myself even once. Gillette Mach 3 Turbo is awesome.

Since I've been writing about ethnicity and intelligence I thought I'd mention the Mach 3 Turbo is made in Equatorial Guinea.

Wait - actually, it is made in Germany. That's more like it!

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

My uncle Todd got married a few months ago, and he and his new wife are in the process of adopting a baby from Russia Kazakhstan.

That was December, and now as of yesterday the babby is home with mom and dad!

Here they are at the airport as a whole family for the first time.

[mulebear]

Aww... How cute.

By the way, what's the battery life on those things and do they come with a storage/carrying case?

Joking. Sheeeesh.

Anyway... My friend, the one that teaches Russian, adopted a baby from Korea(?)... Taiwan(?)... He claims that he was asked several times if he was going to learn the baby's language. WTF???

Anyway... Baby is now 21 years old and studying to be an oceanographer.

ETA: One more thing. Dad's last name is a very long polish name and the son's first name is Sam. It's amusing when he tells people his name.

[Pyrrho]

I backed my car into a concrete pillar and exercised my free speech rights to the world for 15 minutes, give or take.

Damn building footers. Damn them all to hell.

[Pyrrho]

It has reached the point where avoiding my family must naturally extends to deleting my Facebook profile.

Yes, it was FAIL to have one in the first place. That also applies to the Facebook profile.

[Ymir's blood]

Just got back from Georgia about an hour ago. I don't know what the problem is but for the last few years it's become difficult to drive on the highway at night. The glare from headlights has become hard to see beyond. I don't have any trouble driving on an empty road or one with street lights.

Beyond the simple fact of getting older, I'm wondering if my glasses are at fault. Normally I wear contacts but sometimes they get dry at night. I took them out just before dark trying to avoid that. I think these just have anti-scratch coating, whereas the old ones had both that and anti-glare.

[mulebear]

Did your prescription change with the new pair? I wear progressive bifocals and I hate them. I don't use them for reading at all and would have been satisfied with regular lenses. As it is, I've noticed that I seem to get a lot of glare in the lower part of the lenses.

[JoeP]

Night driving - with headlight glare - is a problem for a lot of people. Mrs JoeP doesn't like it. And I think it can get worse with age.

If your irises are contracting so much on account of the glare, you won't be getting much light in the shadows. Not much to do with glasses. But if there's any dispersion (due to scratches or smears or whatever), that could make it much harder.

[ceptimus]

[ceptimus]

It could be that your eyes are still recovering from having the contacts in. I'm certainly affected by mine - I can see great with them in, but not-so-good at night with spectacles after I've worn the contacts.

To test the theory, if you can manage it, try not wearing the contacts at all for a couple of days and then do some night driving wearing your specs.

[Ymir's blood]

Originally Posted by mulebear

Did your prescription change with the new pair? I wear progressive bifocals and I hate them. I don't use them for reading at all and would have been satisfied with regular lenses. As it is, I've noticed that I seem to get a lot of glare in the lower part of the lenses.

The optometrist wanted me to wear bifocals but they didn't work out for me. I switched back to regular lenses after a month or two.

Originally Posted by JoeP

Night driving - with headlight glare - is a problem for a lot of people. Mrs JoeP doesn't like it. And I think it can get worse with age.

If your irises are contracting so much on account of the glare, you won't be getting much light in the shadows. Not much to do with glasses. But if there's any dispersion (due to scratches or smears or whatever), that could make it much harder.

How fast do the irises contract and expand? I can usually see just fine as soon as the light source is removed/past.

Originally Posted by ceptimus

It could be that your eyes are still recovering from having the contacts in. I'm certainly affected by mine - I can see great with them in, but not-so-good at night with spectacles after I've worn the contacts.

To test the theory, if you can manage it, try not wearing the contacts at all for a couple of days and then do some night driving wearing your specs.

The last three hours of the drive were in the dark. I didn't have as much problem towards the end, but it would be hard to factor out the different conditions. The initial part of the drive (an night) was on a highway with the oncoming lanes close to the ones in my direction. That was the hardest part. Then on the Interstate, the opposing traffic was further away. Both segments had a lot of cars behind me, with their lights in my mirrors.

Some thoughts about that:

• If there were cars ahead of me in my lane, I drove fine being able to see the lane markings in their headlights.
• The light in my mirrors was as distracting as the light from oncoming cars.
• I noticed my 'comfortable' speed increased after being on the Interstate for awhile. The road is a bit straighter however and had (mostly) less vertical curves.

The final stretch of the drive was less heavily traveled. I managed to go almost all of the two lane mountainous part without anyone behind me. There wasn't much oncoming traffic either and I was able to use my bright lights which helped a lot. My nerves were much better at this point and the last 45 minutes or so were on roads I know rather well, though they are still winding and narrow two lane ones.

My car is a compact (in the US at least) whereas my old vehicle was a mid sized pickup with a high suspension. I think that has to have made a difference in some places as my mirrors would have been higher up in the old vehicle.

[Gonzo]

As for me:

Caffeine withdrawal headaches.

Pain, dizziness, confusion. [You mean more than [Stop that! -- Ed.]]

If reducing my caffeine intake doesn't reduce the more persistent headaches I've been having anyway, I'll go to the doc, and when he says "have you cut down caffeine and alcohol and got plenty of sleep?", I'll smugly say "Yes. Your move, MD."

I never knew the side effects of coffee over-consumption. I can't even go for a car ride anymore without a canister of the stuff with me. I must drink 10 or more cups a day. Can't go to sleep without a cup, either. While I can't concentrate without it, caffeine withdrawals make me a bit of a jittery, aimless wreck.

I will not give up my coffee.

[ceptimus]

You can set up a more scientific test for the glasses / contacts theory to eliminate the variables of traffic etc.

You just need some bright lights to look towards and something to test your eyes nearby.

Easiest set up is to switch on your car headlights when it's dark, and see how far away from the front of car you can walk while you can still read the licence plate. Or you may prefer to have some kind of sign a fixed distance off to one side of your car and see how far away you can get and still read that (you could park your car adjacent to a road sign, for example).

Then you can use the same set up a few days later after a different contact lens wearing regime, and see if there's any difference.

At night, I've sometimes resorted to angling the mirrors so that all I can see in them is the road near the back tyres - much less distraction. You can still tell if someone is behind you by their lights illuminating your car's interior. It helps if your mirrors are electrically adjustable - then you can switch them back to the normal position easily when required.

[Sonoma Bear]

I realize that you're not that old Ymir, but have you had your eyes checked for cataracts? What you describe is also a characteristic of people who are developing one or more cataracts. It might be a good idea to have that checked.

[Watser?]

It could be night blindness, Y's b, I know some people who have that. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ight_blindness

Can be caused by vitamine deficiency (and cured by supplements).

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Ymir's blood

How fast do the irises contract and expand? I can usually see just fine as soon as the light source is removed/past.

Like half a second. You can see in the mirror if you shine a torch in your eyes. And again if you take it away.

Originally Posted by Watser?

It could be night blindness, Y's b, I know some people who have that. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ight_blindness

Can be caused by vitamine deficiency (and cured by supplements).

Based on that article, you should

(a) Take vitamin A supplements
(b) Eat lots of carrots
(c) Install radar in your head
(d) anoint your eyeballs with the stuff dripping from a liver whilst roasting, preferably of a he-goat, or failing that of a she-goat; and as well you should eat some of the liver itself

NOTICE. Seek advice from a qualified medical practitioner before embarking on any of these remedies.

[Watser?]

Well yeah, I didn't mean follow the instructions in the internets.

[JoeP]

Oh quite.

However, I think YB would be game to give it a try. I wonder if old bones are a good source of vitamin A?

[ceptimus]

Yeah, also, according to the article, he should stop sleeping in moonlight, in the tropics.