Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[NobodyHere]

Note to self:

If you're going to a gas station to pick up some smokes then do NOT leave your car running unattended while you're inside.


Knowing is half the battle.

[Lathum]

Diet Snapple flavor rankings

Lemon
































Rasberry/Peach

[RainMaker]

Reddit is a pretty good source for information on stuff. Helped me immensely when building PCs over the years. And I learned a lot about woodworking when building my desk. Never bothered with the other stuff on the site, but there are some really specific subs that have tons of great information and helpful people.

[Ksyrup]

Raspberry is my favorite Snapple flavor but that's from when I used to down the regular version by the case in college. Now, not so much. The diet version is admittedly not nearly as good.

[AlexB]

I had no idea Henry Cavill was not American

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Note to self:

If you're going to a gas station to pick up some smokes then do NOT leave your car running unattended while you're inside.


Knowing is half the battle.

I had a high school teacher who's nickname was Smokin' Joe because he got his car stolen in college when he left it running while he was buying cigs.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I had a high school teacher who's nickname was Smokin' Joe because he got his car stolen in college when he left it running while he was buying cigs.

My high school anatomy teacher was also named Smokin' Joe because he had a love for Mary Jane.

[Ksyrup]

We had an English teacher named Richard Weed who willingly went by Dick.

[Ksyrup]

Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas is the perfect time to Unsubscribe from all of the unnecessary email lists I'm on because you really notice them when you're getting 2-3 a day.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas is the perfect time to Unsubscribe from all of the unnecessary email lists I'm on because you really notice them when you're getting 2-3 a day.

I like this idea

SI

[CarterNMA]

Cindy. You don't meet many women named Cindy these days. Been ages since I've met one.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by CarterNMA

Cindy. You don't meet many women named Cindy these days. Been ages since I've met one.

My daughters name is Sydney and people always think it is Cindy

[CarterNMA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

My daughters name is Sydney and people always think it is Cindy

Don't know whether to laugh or cry. Americans are absolute shit at knowing geography. I work with a lot of recent college graduates and a shocking number of them have no concept for states west of the Mississippi.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

We had an English teacher named Richard Weed who willingly went by Dick.

I think I've told this before, but we had a teacher whose name was Richard Head.

[Ksyrup]

Buying contacts online is the most dishonest shopping experience that may exist.

First, I've noticed for several years that you can find certain advertised prices that will take you to a site, but if you just search straight on the site, the prices are way higher. My wife and daughter wear the same contacts, so once I put one of their Rx in the order and try to order the next, when I go find the same contacts within the site, the price is completely different. So that forces me to back out of the site, go find the link that took me to the site to begin with, just so I can get the same price as the first pair.

Everyone has free shipping right? Well, I ran across a new one today. They aren't just burying the additional charges in "handling" anymore, now it's "taxes and insurance." INSURANCE! I bought 8 boxes of contacts at the advertised price of $34 plus free shipping, and they are trying to add $105 in "taxes and insurance" to the order.

FUCK THEM. That should be about $16 in KY sales tax. So they're tacking on another $90 for fucking nothing.

I can't believe it's easier to buy a fucking car than contacts.

[Coffee Warlord]

My son (10) managed to break his wrist in not one, but two places, swan diving off the playground equipment. Smooth move.

Goes in for his hard cast tomorrow.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Buying contacts online is the most dishonest shopping experience that may exist.

First, I've noticed for several years that you can find certain advertised prices that will take you to a site, but if you just search straight on the site, the prices are way higher. My wife and daughter wear the same contacts, so once I put one of their Rx in the order and try to order the next, when I go find the same contacts within the site, the price is completely different. So that forces me to back out of the site, go find the link that took me to the site to begin with, just so I can get the same price as the first pair.

Everyone has free shipping right? Well, I ran across a new one today. They aren't just burying the additional charges in "handling" anymore, now it's "taxes and insurance." INSURANCE! I bought 8 boxes of contacts at the advertised price of $34 plus free shipping, and they are trying to add $105 in "taxes and insurance" to the order.

FUCK THEM. That should be about $16 in KY sales tax. So they're tacking on another $90 for fucking nothing.

I can't believe it's easier to buy a fucking car than contacts.

My wife is an optician, and says buy them at the optometrist office silly. Many times you can actually arrange for them to drop ship them to you at no cost. After all the fees you usually end up paying the same and you support a local business.

[GrantDawg]

If all the posts I have written and not sent on various sites were put in one place, it would be longest and dumbest novel in history. So many times I haven't written out a post in response to something and just not hit send. Often I look back later and think "I am glad I didn't send that. I read that wrong" or something like that. Other times the discussion still haunts me but I never post because I don't want to get into the drama of something.
I know it maybe hard to believe after reading my post on here, but there are actually even worst post that never see the light of day.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

My wife is an optician, and says buy them at the optometrist office silly. Many times you can actually arrange for them to drop ship them to you at no cost. After all the fees you usually end up paying the same and you support a local business.

I originally started buying them online because of how much more they cost from the office. But that advantage seems to have gone away. Fortunately, my brother is an ophthalmologist, so we just ordered through him at cost.

[Lathum]

I do all our laundry. My wife has 3 different tanks tops. Working out, sleeping, and under a nice shirt, etc.. for work. I can not for the life of my figure out which are which, and they are all kept in different places in the closet, dresser...creates endless chaos in her world.

[AnalBumCover]

Someone please put me out of my misery before I hear another Lincoln commercial.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I originally started buying them online because of how much more they cost from the office. But that advantage seems to have gone away. Fortunately, my brother is an ophthalmologist, so we just ordered through him at cost.

Yeah, the family discount is the best.

[Edward64]

I love this. Not sure 6-10 hours is good enough but assume it'll improve in the future.

New eye drops could replace reading glasses for millions

A newly approved eye drop hitting the market on Thursday could change the lives of millions of Americans with age-related blurred near vision, a condition affecting mostly people 40 and older.

Vuity, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October, would potentially replace reading glasses for some of the 128 million Americans who have trouble seeing close-up. The new medicine takes effect in about 15 minutes, with one drop on each eye providing sharper vision for six to 10 hours, according to the company.

Toni Wright, one of the 750 participants in a clinical trial to test the drug, said she liked what she saw.

"It's definitely a life changer," Wright told CBS News national correspondent Jericka Duncan.

Before the trial, the only way Wright could see things clearly was by keeping reading glasses everywhere — in her office, bathroom, kitchen and car.

"I was in denial because to me that was a sign of growing older, you know, needing to wear glasses," she said.

It was in 2019 that her doctor told her about a new eye drop with the potential to correct her vision problems, temporarily. The 54-year-old online retail consultant, who works from her farm in western Pennsylvania, instantly noticed a difference.

"I would not need my readers as much, especially on the computer, where I would always need to have them on," she said.

Vuity is the first FDA-approved eye drop to treat age-related blurry near vision, also known as presbyopia. The prescription drug utilizes the eye's natural ability to reduce its pupil size, said Dr. George Waring, the principal investigator for the trial.

"Reducing the pupil size expands the depth of field or the depth of focus, and that allows you to focus at different ranges naturally," he said.

A 30-day supply of the drug will cost about $80 and works best in people 40 to 55 years old, a Vuity spokesperson said. Side effects detected in the three-month trial included headaches and red eyes, the company said.

[Ksyrup]

So I'm laid up after surgery, not able to do much but sit/lay/walk around the house, can't go anywhere, and there isn't a damn thing on TV tomorrow except maybe some college basketball. Not even Saturday NFL (which starts next weekend). Just my effin luck.

[Ksyrup]

Just to humor myself and shock/piss off my family, I shaved my beard tonight while they were at my daughter's basketball game. First time I've fully shaved since around 2008ish. Looking forward to them walking through the door in about an hour. This is what happens when you combine boredom with having taken more controlled substances in the past 3 days than I've taken in the past 50 years.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So I'm laid up after surgery, not able to do much but sit/lay/walk around the house, can't go anywhere, and there isn't a damn thing on TV tomorrow except maybe some college basketball. Not even Saturday NFL (which starts next weekend). Just my effin luck.

NCAA Womens volleyball.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So I'm laid up after surgery, not able to do much but sit/lay/walk around the house, can't go anywhere, and there isn't a damn thing on TV tomorrow except maybe some college basketball. Not even Saturday NFL (which starts next weekend). Just my effin luck.

Army/Navy is tomorrow apparently

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Just to humor myself and shock/piss off my family, I shaved my beard tonight while they were at my daughter's basketball game. First time I've fully shaved since around 2008ish. Looking forward to them walking through the door in about an hour. This is what happens when you combine boredom with having taken more controlled substances in the past 3 days than I've taken in the past 50 years.

So how'd this go?

SI

[Ksyrup]

My wife was not happy. It made me laugh though. Honestly, I don't look as bad as I thought I would. I certainly would feel justified punching someone in the face for offering me a senior discount now without my grey beard. My daughter graduates on Saturday so now the race is on to hopefully fill back in somewhat in the next 6 days.

[Ksyrup]

There needs to be a term for when you read a twitter handle or hashtag wrong because of the jumble of letters. Kinda like a social media version of all of the SNL Jeopardy categories (analbumcover, etc.), or reading the wrong words into it because of how many letters there are.

I saw one yesterday I can't remember, but it turned on reading the 's' that was supposed to begin the last word as if it was at the end of the preceding word. And just now, I saw the twitter handle for a band called Bad Omens that was @badomenscult and really quickly, I thought their name was Bad Omen Biscuit.

[cuervo72]

Oh, it's like what I do here with InTheHallway.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

My wife was not happy. It made me laugh though. Honestly, I don't look as bad as I thought I would. I certainly would feel justified punching someone in the face for offering me a senior discount now without my grey beard. My daughter graduates on Saturday so now the race is on to hopefully fill back in somewhat in the next 6 days.

Whereas my wife would be very unhappy if I ever did grow a beard. Luckily for her, it doesn't appear to be genetically possible for me to grow a decent beard, so she's safe.

I guess it's the tradeoff for the fact that I look young for my age. I'm 51, and have only a few isolated grey hairs in my sideburns. I regularly get guesses that I'm in my late thirties or early forties. (Also, my personality makes me seem younger than I am. I've always been on the immature end of the spectrum.) So I got lucky when it comes to how fast I visibly age, unlucky in the fact that if I ever really wanted to have a beard, I would be out of luck. I guess I'll take that trade.

[Ksyrup]

My wife never wanted me to grow a beard and now she hates that I shaved it off. I definitely look older (but better) with it - I'm about 98% grey in my beard and my hair is salt and pepper. I've had senior discounts twice - once famously on the day we bought Caitlin's first car, at an Arby's. That was like 7 years ago, so I would have been 43/44. I chocked it up to Caitlin looking old enough and Mackenzie looking young enough that it appeared Caitlin was Mackenzie's mom and I was the grandpa. Of course, being in KY, I could still have been grandpa at a younger age than I was at the time...

[JonInMiddleGA]

This whole "can't sleep because I know I need to sleep" deal is cutting my margins awfully thin.

It's gone from happens occasionally to basically every time lately, and that really sucks when I already don't handle driving in Atlanta traffic well to begin with.

[Kodos]

I’ve found using sleep stories on the Calm app to be helpful in going to sleep and getting back to sleep. They distract me from whatever is on my mind. Might be worth a try.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I’ve found using sleep stories on the Calm app to be helpful in going to sleep and getting back to sleep. They distract me from whatever is on my mind. Might be worth a try.

I use a white noise app with a headband that has blue tooth speakers. someone here recommended it and it works great.

Jon could also try cutting from 30 cups of coffee a day to 20. Could help.

[sterlingice]

I'm ok at getting to sleep initially, mostly.

Tho, there are some nights when -- there must be some polysyllabic German word for this -- the idea of wanting control over one's life and the only time you can really do that is at night so you stay up too late because you can, never mind the consequences the next day.

That said, if I get up in the middle of the night and don't get back to sleep immediately, I'm up for a long time, just laying in bed without my brain being able to turn off. No phone or book or anything - just laying there unable to fall asleep. This is a relatively new phenomenon with me in the last couple of years.

SI

[Ksyrup]

I used to have that problem, only a few years ago. Then I got older. I've found that if I consciously put myself into a dream scenario, I am able to go to sleep very easily. Basically, moving the mind from reality to some sort of fake scenario in which my mind can take it from there, that's all I need.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I used to have that problem, only a few years ago. Then I got older. I've found that if I consciously put myself into a dream scenario, I am able to go to sleep very easily. Basically, moving the mind from reality to some sort of fake scenario in which my mind can take it from there, that's all I need.

I do that also. It usually involves my cleaning lady...

[Ksyrup]

As I've aged, I've started listening to a lot of post-rock and post-metal. Likewise, my dreams are almost all post-sex.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I use a white noise app with a headband that has blue tooth speakers. someone here recommended it and it works great.

Jon could also try cutting from 30 cups of coffee a day to 20. Could help.

Yeah, I use the headband with bluetooth speakers too so I don't bother my wife. Like you, I probably got that idea here.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I do that also. It usually involves my cleaning lady...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Jon could also try cutting from 30 cups of coffee a day to 20. Could help.

Don't talk nonsense

Besides, this is pretty specific -- it's about nights before I've got a drive into Atlanta the next day.

The dread of that hellish experience + the pressure of knowing I really need to sleep, I'm on a long run of failing miserably. Sleep 5 mins, wake. Sleep 7 mins, wake. Sleep 3 mins, wake.

I think the scenario combines to almost trigger something like my fight or flight response, my brain says "must sleep" but my body is acting like "sleep? fuck you, we gotta get outta here man"

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Tho, there are some nights when -- there must be some polysyllabic German word for this -- the idea of wanting control over one's life and the only time you can really do that is at night so you stay up too late because you can, never mind the consequences the next day.

Oh that's me in spades on "normal" nights.

To the point that I regularly drag myself up with an alarm set between 130a and 330a just so I can have some me-time without interruption until it's time to make sure breakfast is handled upstairs.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Don't talk nonsense

Besides, this is pretty specific -- it's about nights before I've got a drive into Atlanta the next day.

The dread of that hellish experience + the pressure of knowing I really need to sleep, I'm on a long run of failing miserably. Sleep 5 mins, wake. Sleep 7 mins, wake. Sleep 3 mins, wake.

I think the scenario combines to almost trigger something like my fight or flight response, my brain says "must sleep" but my body is acting like "sleep? fuck you, we gotta get outta here man"

Have you tried Melatonin?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Have you tried Melatonin?

Yeah, little impact aside from making my dreams a little weirder than usual.

[Solecismic]

I rarely sleep much these days, especially if there's something I have to be up for at a specific time.

I'm not saying everyone who has this problem has the same potential issues, but I finally put two and two together and figured out it must be sleep apnea - this after my wife (who for most of the time I've known her gets to sleep instantly and sleeps deeply) said I was keeping her awake with my snoring.

I've felt awful the last 3-4 years compared to normal, and I thought it was aging or just sleep deprivation or stress (from my stupid career decisions). But apnea makes a lot of sense. I got the initial test results yesterday, and I have "severe" apnea. Yay.

At least I can do the more involved sleep study now and get fitted for a CPAP machine and mask. I hope my wife wasn't too frightened by Silence of the Lambs.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Oh that's me in spades on "normal" nights.

To the point that I regularly drag myself up with an alarm set between 130a and 330a just so I can have some me-time without interruption until it's time to make sure breakfast is handled upstairs.

I always get to sleep better when I've had some recent "me time."



I had issues with this back in high school. The later it got, the less sleep I knew I would get, and the more I'd stress about it.

While working though I've usually not had that hard of a time restraint so if I need a little more sleep, I stay in bed a little bit longer. Or for many years I was simply young enough to suck it up. No stress, no vicious cycle. Occasionally I will get to thinking about something in particular and have trouble shutting my mind off, but that's thankfully not all that often.

Now the issue is staying asleep. Outside of the snoring (almost sure I have a deviated septum; my dad does/did, and younger child I believe does somewhat) -- which probably wakes my wife up more than it does me -- lately I've had to flip over more often because of hip soreness. And in the past couple of weeks I've woken up with some awful outer thigh cramps. Probably a nerve somewhere being disrupted, and probably because I'm too damned fat right now.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I always get to sleep better when I've had some recent "me time."

I knew I'd regret that choice of phrase

[Ksyrup]

One of the things that has probably contributed to my better than normal sleep the past couple of years is running 25-35 miles a week. I typically run 5 or 6 days a week. Tends to override my body's attempt to stay awake, even when I want to.