Hi! In real-time welcome to March, 2017. It came in like a lamb. Very mild. I have heard the robins calling although I have yet to see one. Does not mean the end of Winter, of course. I dug a robin out of a snow pile one year. Bird hypothermia.
If anyone is keeping track, the washer is done, kaput, dead. We could resurrect it for $400 or buy a new one for around the same price….yep. Going shopping after work on Friday.
The repair man said I should have run the clean washer cycle regularly. He said I should have known that from reading the manual. Read the manual? What planet is he from? Does anyone actually read the manual?
And to segue off from that, I have been reading about eSight glasses these past few days. A couple of pieces on them have been in the media. People keep giving me the articles and suggesting I look into buying a pair. For $10,000.
My friend who – bless her – cares about my welfare and has so far thought both the Argus 2 and statins would be just the ticket for me, said I should not worry about the money because the eSight glasses could give me my independence back and allow me to drive again. Wrong. No, no, no. Although later reading I have done confirmed what she said about the image focusing on my intact section of retina, that same reading also confirmed what I said. To wit, the glasses use magnification as well. Magnification screws up your perception of distance and of speed.
You cannot use magnification and drive. Very often you cannot even use magnification and walk fast. Long paragraph short? Do not buy the eSight glasses and think you can drive. Not happening.
Otherwise, though, they sound promising. American Federation for the Blind did an article on eSight glasses, along with Smart Glasses, for the AccessWorld magazine. The eSight glasses magnify up to 14x. You can make color and contrast adjustments. You can also determine if what the camera is picking up should take up the entire display or just a part.
I refer you to the AccessWorld article for more information. The newspaper article on the glasses was for the Associated Press and written by Michael Liedtke. The online article I was given was entitled High-tech Glasses are Helping Blind People See.
Of course, unless you have discretionary funds coming out of your ears, $10,000 is quite a bit to spend on a pair of funny glasses. While the price has been coming down, the burden of cost remains all on the consumer. Insurances pay nothing.
A possible loophole I found is clinical trials. eSight has already done one clinical study with the results due out this spring. If the company decides to do more studies, they will need test subjects and test subjects will be given glasses. Are you following my devious, little mind? Some of us may be able to get free glasses in return for being in the study. Not sure it is even remotely possible, but if you are interested, check it out.
So, that’s that. Who wants to be in the Geordi LaForge look-alike contest?!?
Next: Real Winter
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