ISTR there was a UF/Exile story where Gryphon's internal monologue is something like, "Dear Zoner, please tell Eris to back the fuck up a little. Love, G." It's been like that for the last little while.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Well, upon reflection, there is one thing, potentially. As part of the bookcase adventure, my glasses got a bit broken (the spring in one of the bows is busted, so they don't really fit right any longer and cause eyestrain because the lenses are at the wrong angle). The optic shop where I got them tried to fix them, and it helped a little, but only to a point. I ended up having to order a new pair—which, uninsured, and because progressive lenses with the kind of time-and-space-warping index of refraction my prescription calls for are priced like aerospace components, are going to run me about $600 when they arrive (coincidentally, circa Christmas, assuming the lab doesn't mess up and have to do it again, which in my experience they wind up doing about one time in three).

I'm not usually big on hitting folks up for money, and I didn't order them knowing I couldn't cover it or anything edgy like that, but it's a big(gish)-ticket expense at an awkward time, so if anybody feels like paypalling a buck or two to the address implied in my sigblock below, that would be right neighborly.

No worries if you can't, I know this is a low point in a stupid timeline for a lot more people than just me. But since a couple of you asked, there is that possibility.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

DaemeonX

Now, there's one thing that the optics shop built into my optometrist's office historically does really poorly, and that's adjustments. If they don't get it right the first time, you can basically just forget it. My mother had to have a new pair corrected once and it took them, I shit you not, nine months. And that was before you had to have an appointment and wear a mask (the latter of which probably contributed to the fact that these are not aligned right, assuming it's that and the lenses aren't misground).

So I dunno. They want me to come back later this week so they can try... something. I'm thinking I might just get a refund and try shopping online. I've heard horror stories about that too, but, I mean... nine months.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

DaemeonX

I did! Thank you very much.

In fact, thanks to everyone who has contributed--I've been holding off with the thought of offering blanket thanks when the "project" is finished, but since it's stretching on for at least another week now, it's probably starting to seem like I just wasn't going to do it. Timing!

So thank you all once again. It's greatly appreciated.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is, and it's that the measurements for the "sweet spot" in the lenses didn't take into account the fact that that mask I had to be wearing to be allowed into the store held the frames in a different position relative to my face than they're going to be in the other 99% of the time. So that may or may not be correctable by adjusting the frames.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

DaemeonX

I kind of have the inverse problem. I've always been bad at seeing at range, but now seeing up close is getting harder too, which is... annoying, particularly as the opticians' response is basically, "You're using them wrong." Well, now that they're no longer sitting nearly 4 mm too low on my nose, anyway.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I got my new machine through an online supplier I've been using for replacement masks and stuff for years, which goes by the somewhat prosaic name The CPAP Shop. Their website is... a bit quaint (for instance, the server their pictures are hosted on seems to be down at the moment), but workable, their prices are good, and their shipping times are decent to where I live (they're in NJ, so that might vary for you).

Fair warning, CPAP devices are FDA-regulated, which means you have to have a prescription to buy one yourself. In my case this took a little while to arrange because of the turnaround time at my doctor's office, but apart from taking a couple of weeks, it was pretty easy. My PA wrote me a scrip that literally just said "CPAP MACHINE DX SLEEP APNEA", I scanned it and uploaded it to the supplier's website (they have a button for doing that which pops up when you order something that requires it), and that was perfectly adequate information as far as The CPAP Shop was concerned. :) Anyway, I mention that so you can save yourself a hassle and line it up with your doctor before you start shopping.

(Also, this only applies to the flow generator itself. Masks, hoses, filters etc. are just supplies, you don't need a prescription for those.)

(Also also, all this applies only to the US, but I'm assuming from the rest of the backstory that you're here and not in a first-world country where this stuff is looked after better.)

>Even though I have good insurance through work and all the things I'm
>supposed to have, they *still* want about $1500 out-of-pocket from me
>for a CPAP machine. Which okay, sure, med tech is expensive, everyone
>knows that... but if your backup battery at $375 cost more than your
>CPAP itself...
>
>... man, I'm shopping at the wrong supplier, I tell you what.

Jeez, yeah. I mean, to be fair, when I ordered mine it happened to be massively on sale (completely by chance, I didn't have the paperwork lined up until the Friday after Thanksgiving), but even so, I just looked, and you could get the best part of three units like mine for that amount of money right now, just buying outright.

They've really come down a lot in price and gotten more sophisticated since I started using them. I remember when I got my first one, in 1997, it was laughably primitive by today's standards, and it cost so much that my insurance company took a year to pay it off (which I only discovered when I got a letter at the end of the process saying that I now didn't have to return it if I changed insurance companies).

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Might be worth inquiring with the medical professional of your choice (assuming you can do so without incurring a fee)

OK, it looks like they've renamed the tiers since the last time I saw anything about them. Here in Maine, at least, there are still four, but now they're calling them 1a through 1c and 2 rather than 1 through 4, for some reason. Based on the list above, I ought to be eligible in phase 1b (possessing more than one of the listed comorbidities), but even so, whether there will be actual availability to match eligibility is its own question around here.

>Might be worth inquiring with the medical professional of your choice
>(assuming you can do so without incurring a fee)

I've left a few voicemails on my PA's clinical line about it (mainly wondering how The Authorities know who's on which list, since I assume HIPAA means they can't just look up people's charts willy-nilly), but they haven't called back, I suspect because they have no idea yet and are tired of telling people so.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

In Missouri, they've gone so far as to break "phase 1b" down into three tiers, because that's not confusing at all, though supposedly they're already vaccinating the two I'm not in...

-IA.

(received information not interpretable)

We actually have 5 here - 1a, 1b, 1c, 2, 3
because why not

One. One A. Two B.

1B. 2B. 3.

... It's really not a very good code, if you think about it.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

but does lend itself to 2B, or Not 2b.. that is the question?

pretty sure there's a NieR:Automata joke lurking in there somewhere.

Michael C. Fortner
"Maxim 37: There is no such thing as "overkill".
There is only "open fire" and "I need to reload".