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Unfortunately, an annoyance before the holiday (far off topic)

pete

Brassica Oleracea
Staff member
Administrator
I had a car accident a few weeks ago. That's actually not too big of a deal: I had my car inspected by the insurance folks, they cut me a check, I deposited the check, I dropped off the broken car, and got a really nice rental; the broken car is a Nissan Sentra, a little compact car, and the rental's a top-of-the line new Nissan Maxima. It's even got separate AC vents for the back seats. And a moonroof.

I got home from work about 15 minutes earlier than normal because the traffic was really decent. I had a nice dinner with the wife, kid, dogs, and cat. I then decide to look at my e-mail. Mistake. That nice check for my car? Stop payment issued. No indication why. Hrm? Received at 6:21pm. On the day before a holiday. Nice. (It's also somewhat unnerving to find out that a stop payment can be issued on a check that has been deposited for 5 days.)

I called my insurance company. Generic call center guy said he had no idea why the check had a stop payment issued. I was transferred to the claims folks. I find out that the only person that can look at my claim was the person I had been dealing with ... who called me earlier this week to say, "You've got the check. If you need more, please tell the shop to submit the claims form, otherwise you're all good." There's also a new person on my claim; someone else in the insurance company. So, at the recommendation of the person I talked with, I leave messages with the person who inspected my car, the new guy, and the person who did my original claim. At least one of the three are supposed to be in on Friday.

I think that what happened is that the guy that inspected my car got the original check wrong -- the auto body shop tech said he thought it needed to be a lot higher. But why no call, insurance folks? I didn't get a call from the auto shop, either. The bank's also charged me their "returned deposited item fee."

Not an auspicious beginning to the holiday ....
 
I think that what happened is that the guy that inspected my car got the original check wrong -- the auto body shop tech said he thought it needed to be a lot higher. But why no call, insurance folks? I didn't get a call from the auto shop, either. The bank's also charged me their "returned deposited item fee."

Which is exactly what happened. The new guy from the insurance company said he was extremely sorry and just forgot. I had him verify that the shop got paid and that they wouldn't be taking my car rental from me. About a minute after I hung up with the insurance guy, the auto body folks (it's a Nissan dealership) called to say that a) it's going to take another week and b) yes, they got paid.

*sigh of relief*
 
I think I'll just tag this onto this thread.

For the last few months, I've noticed I was having difficulty reading things at a normal reading distance. I'm extremely nearsighted and I've worn glasses since I was 5ish. The twist on this was that bringing something closer didn't help me focus any better. If I held a book at arm's length, I had much better focus, but the letters were too small. I've been told to get quad-focal glasses for years, but the different focal points make me dizzy. This time, the eye doc (a real doc) insisted. I said, "Well, can I get a separate pair just for reading?" OK. So, that's what I've got: a pair for "everyday" and a pair for "reading." Makes a huge difference. Hey, my HD monitor is now really HD again!

Daughters: "You're old, Dad." Yes, yes I am.
 
I have had a pair of glasses set just for my music stand for a couple of years now. Wouldn't be without them!
 
After 1/2 of a day wearing the computer/reading glasses, I still can see a difference. It's just pretty odd to have things clear about 5 feet in front of you then everything fuzzes out. It'd be nice if someone would invent a pair of glasses that automagically shifts the focal points. I know the tech is out there to do this.
 
One of my (film) SLR cameras a few years ago, by Canon, could track you eye movements from the viewfinder, and on a grid of a number of areas that could be focused on in the viewfinder, it would focus on what you are looking at.

Now, as you focus on things nearer to you, your eyes converge. I don't know when convergence starts (probably at a few feet away) but if that convergence could be tracked, then from the convergence it might be possible to calculate the distance from you that your focusing on. Appropriate tension across a flexible lens would change the correction.

All needed now is minaturise sensors, mechanism and power source....
 
For some applications, the progressive lenses work just fine. But, if you do a lot of work at a given distance (like read musical charts on a stand, look at a computer monitor, and so forth), progressive lenses can be a real handicap.

I have same, and I find them a nuisance for everything but normal, day to day "living" (eating, drinking, watching the television, reading in good light, and driving). However, if something requires fine detail, or if (God forbid) you have to look at something upside down (like read a VIN off of a trailer frame in middling light), or work on plumbing under a sink, they are almost useless.

More and more, I find myself taking my glasses off and moving my face right up to whatever it is I am working on, just so I can see.

And music glasses, focused at one distance across the entire lens, are a necessity if you are over 35 or so. An extra expense, but one well worth the bother.
 
And music glasses, focused at one distance across the entire lens, are a necessity if you are over 35 or so. An extra expense, but one well worth the bother.

I guess I'm very lucky then. I only have distance glasses, and don't really need reading glasses unless the print is very small. For reading music, I take off my glasses when I get to rehearsal so that I can read the music, but don't have to wear anything--except sunglasses on stage because the stage lights irritate my photophobia.
 
All needed now is minaturise sensors, mechanism and power source....
You could have a long cable to a smartphone-sized thing at your hip. You could also put a lot of electronics in the glasses' temples (the part of the glasses that goes over your ears, for you visually advantaged folks). There are already manual adjustable glasses that are being sent to "developing nations." They use fluid to alter the shape of the lens, so it's "hydraulic." Hey, all you have to do is get a sensor that'll read what the eye is trying to focus on. You'll probably want to get rid of the hydraulics and make it electric so it responds faster.

Oh. Speaking of sunglasses, one thing I dislike about the Transitions lenses I've been getting for a few years is that they only darken in UV, not just if it's bright. The Transitions folks used to have the "darken when really bright" lenses, but discontinued them. I assume they were just too expensive. Anyhow, if I drive a convertible or a car with a moonroof, the regular Transitions do darken for me. Well, I guess that means I need a convertible again or have a moonroof added to my current car :D.
 
Daughters: "You're old, Dad." Yes, yes I am.

My eye doctor, who is a bit of a smarta$$, likes to say "you have an incurable disease of the eyes - it's called too many birthdays". The joke gets old too after the first couple of times.

Most nearsighted people start to develop presbyopia in their 40's, and it gets progressively worse. I'm still opting for contacts for my nearsightedness with over the counter reading glasses for close work. I just keep a pair in every room of the house. I have two pairs in my sax cases - a stronger pair for close reading, and a weaker pair when I am playing with big band fronts that are farther away.

I tried the bifocal contacts and monovision lenses (one for near and one for far). They both just made me dizzy.
 
Early on this year I had the lenses replaced in both eyes, as I had rapidly developing cataracts. Now I can read music from across the practise hall, but I still need lookovers to read it on my music stand.
 
Those fluid glasses are serviceable for general purposes, but the ones that I have tested are nowhere near the visual quality of solid lenses.

I got excited when they started advertising them on the television, but my experimentation with same really put me off of them. And, there's the price...
 
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