The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[rafletcher]

I went to the local library yesterday, as it was the deadline for collecting some reservations, and I had the day off. It was shut. Council website says “following government guidelines all libraries are temporarily closed”. That’ll be the guidelines that state libraries can remain open for collection of reservations, just like in November. 

At least this time they’ve given a reopening date, of the 29th.

[TimC]

Is your objection to the article or its subject?

The content, the writing, "breathing 100% oxygen", just generally irksome

Every other article I've read says pure oxygen on the ground pre-flight, the BBC article implies 100% all the time, talks about modular plug and play equipment while showing a picture of something that looks like an integral part of the wing's construction.  Yes, details will be secret, but there just seems to be a lack of rigour in some of these articles.

And yes, no mention of Gary Powers, Critical 60's/70's missions, UK involvement...

It starts off pretty badly, but recovers some credibility after a while. The statement that they're going to get 30 years more life for an investment of $37.8m might be a tad inaccurate!

[Kim]

The content, the writing, "breathing 100% oxygen", just generally irksome

Every other article I've read says pure oxygen on the ground pre-flight, the BBC article implies 100% all the time

I thought that was normal for spacesuits; oxygen (plus water/CO2, because lungs) atmosphere at 4.3PSI to maximise suit flexibility while delivering the necessary oxygen.  Pre-breathing pure oxygen is needed to remove the nitrogen from your tissues in order to not get the bends when dropping to that pressure from a ground-level atmosphere (as is normally used on spacecraft, to prevent Apollo 1 scenarios).

[TimC]

Yes, that's exactly right Kim. U2 pilots pre-breathe 100% oxygen for an hour pre-flight, and breathe pressurised 100% oxygen in flight. That's still not sufficient to avoid decompression sickness; U2 pilots have suffered DCS in flight on several recorded occasions over the last 30 or so years, as missions have got longer and more complex.

A fairly recent modification to the aircraft has improved the pressurisation so that the cabin altitude is much lower than it once was - it's now around 15,000' rather than the 30,000' it used to be. While that should allow a normal airmix supply to be used, the risk of depressuristion means that they still use the suits and 100% oxygen.

[ian]

So, I'm trying to do a belated recorded video presentation.

Attempt 1: wife wanders in and starts obviously talking to me.
Attempt 2: send her upstairs. Cat dramatically throws up next door.
Attempt 3: send wife to shops, kick cat out the door. Doorbell rings. Then rings, rings, rings.
Attempt 4: wife comes back shouts 'hello' as she slams the back door.
Attempt 5: the fucking landline rings. And rings. And rings.
Attempt 6...

Recording a 10-minute presentation is really going to be an all-day affair.

[ian]

Delivery season continues. Today, as I don't need silence, they've stopped ringing the doorbell. Instead it's stealth delivery day. Ignore the sign on the door to put it behind the porch, why not. Leave it on the doorstep in the rain. Fortunately, I found the first one before the books were soaked. The second was soaked but in plastic.

And Yodel, Ben Wilson doesn't live here. The clue might be in the address, which isn't that of the doorstep you left it on.

[Mrs Pingu]

Got my first pair of proper varifocals this evening. How long will it take before I stop wanting to vomit every time I move my head?

[Basil]

Got my first pair of proper varifocals this evening. How long will it take before I stop wanting to vomit every time I move my head?

Have you tried walking downstairs yet?

[Clare]

Took me about a week to get used to mine.

Have you got separate single vision specs for computer use? Varifocals are useless for any screen larger than a laptop.

[Mrs Pingu]

Got my first pair of proper varifocals this evening. How long will it take before I stop wanting to vomit every time I move my head?

Have you tried walking downstairs yet?

No. Fortunately the only stairs at Pingu Towers are the ones outside to get into our flat. Might be slippery at the mo though.

Took me about a week to get used to mine.

Have you got separate single vision specs for computer use? Varifocals are useless for any screen larger than a laptop.

Aw don't say that. No, I have not.
Having said that I'm not convinced I really needed them, I was only peering over the top of my specs at really tiny text, like that on a small image on a phone screen, not like I had a problem with books, tablets, menus. We'll see....

[andytheflyer]

Got my first pair of proper varifocals this evening. How long will it take before I stop wanting to vomit every time I move my head?

A while............

[ian]

About a week before I discovered the sensory benefits saved me from buying my usual drugs from Crazy Dave.

I don't have a different pair for my computer and it's a huge-o 27 inch screen. Sometimes I have to adjust my eyeline when I'm slouched in front of the TV (not a problem at the moment, since Bad Cat threw up on my sofa, and it's soggy with magic cleaning potions).

[Clare]

I use a 34" wide screen (replacing the double screen set up that is on my desk at work), with my varifocals on I have to more my head around a lot to get things in focus ending up with bad neck ache.

I ended up getting a single vision pair specifically for screen use.

[fuzzy]

I enjoyed my varifocals sooooooooo much I swapped them for two separate single vision prescriptions- one for reading/ potter/ close shit and another for tv ect.

I have a feeling that, as I now wear the distance ones a bit more, the next purchase of specs will be bifocals.

[ElyDave]

havent got there yet, but I've now started not needing my specs at all for reading or work on the computer - I have 2 x 24" screens, so plenty of real-estate there. For soem reason it drives the other half batty when I put my glasses on top of my head to read.

"Why don't you get some more glasses for reading?"
"becasue I don't need them, that's why I'm not using them"

[ian]

I was somehow persuaded into multifocals and I'm not even sure that's a thing. But whatever thing it is or isn't, it's the most expensive in the catalogue. I see what you're doing there, optolady. Well, I didn't until I'd glunged £600 on a pair of glasses.

Hated them at first, quite like them now. I used to do the thing where I'd be peaking over the top like a stern librarian conjuring up punishments for errant whispers and book return defaulters. Trust me, they'd be harsh punishments.

[T42]

The free Starleaf app allows 40 minutes per meeting. However, this does not mean that you have to talk for every bloody one of them.

[Mr Larrington]

Spec-life get complicated round here.  Need reading glasses for close-up things like using a fondleslab.  Need distance bins for reading Stuffs on the Proper Computer, wot is connected to a 40-something inch distascope on the other side of the room.  Don’t need either for the PC keyboard, which lives on the table a forearm's length away.  Much peering over, under or round the lenses occurs, with swearing.

[rafletcher]

Got my first pair of proper varifocals this evening. How long will it take before I stop wanting to vomit every time I move my head?

Just depends. I've never had a problem adapting to contacts or latterly varifocals. The only failure was monovision contacts, where my dominant eye was just too dominant (ooo-er!). I did trial multi-focal contact lenses, but as they can't (ok, because specsavers wont - I'm sure custom soft lenses could be had) correct astigmatism, they were a no-goer for me.  I now cycle without corrective lenses.

ETA for really close work (like looking upwards trying to thread cables in STI's in a not brilliantly lit shed) I have some cheapo single vision glasses.

[IanN]

I got bifocals because prescription wrap-round sunglasses made me sea sick (guaranteeing varificals would be hideous). Still rubbish and I think next time I'll end up with separate reading glasses

It gets horribly expensive. Up to to 4 separate pairs now. (all prescription):
normal (astigmatism).   Still on my old pre bifocal pair
sunglasses for the car
reactions lenses for cycling
bifocals / reading

(adding to this, the potential comedy of living between two different counties)

At my last eye test - "do I really need the new prescription?".  I'm pretty sure the measurement error in lens prescription is larger than the differences that 'justify' new glasses. I should have plotted it over time.

[ian]

Being a boss-eyed super-myope, I usually leave the opticians with my bank balance several hundred pounds lighter.

[woollypigs]

The free Starleaf app allows 40 minutes per meeting. However, this does not mean that you have to talk for every bloody one of them.

You got unlimited between the 21st Dec and sometime in Jan

[orienteer]

Been using varifocals for years now. Be aware there are several types, and the cheapest are not the best.

My latest prescription gave some problems viewing my laptop screen, so I went back to the optician. He found there was a 1mm error (manufacturing tolerance) between the two lenses, meaning I had to have my head at a slightly different angle for each lens for medium distance reading. The revised lenses are fine.

Varifocals are not good when working in contorted positions, as one is not looking through the appropriate part of the lens. I often just remove my glasses.

[Mrs Pingu]

I can now turn my head without feeling sick. Haven't got used to using them though, and I really noticed not being able to read the tablet out of the corner of my eye while I turned my head to drink from a mug or glass.

Being a boss-eyed super-myope, I usually leave the opticians with my bank balance several hundred pounds lighter.

I broke the magic -8 dioptres this time round  . Suspect the only reason I didn't top the 500 squids mark was because by some quirk of fate the frames I picked were cheap and because I got 10% off due to various cock ups.

For that I get the 2nd best high index lenses, Reactions, blue light filter and some sort of newfangled anti headlight glare thing.

[ian]

Two -7ish lenses, the most ultra-thin, ultra-light, ultra-everything, and the multifocalist lenses known to humanity took me to about £600 + frames.

I think that if I went for cheapest in the book, the weight of lenses alone would cause my face to slide off in a fleshy avalanche.