Awareness & early detection

Some stuff in the world seems to pass you by as if it will never apply to yourself, only to other people.Breast Cancer is a disease of epidemic proportions, but in the last decade or so a great deal of progress has been made in the treatment of it.
The key is to be aware of the risks, detection and tests out there. It really is something that is very beatable if picked up early.

Awareness. Not just women, but their men too. Everyone needs to educate themselves a little bit more than from what they think they know.

Take some time now to read this site BreastCancer.org. Be aware of what to look for. Get regular checks. Get anything odd checked early. Get second opinions and be suspicious of anything until it's cleared.

Awareness will save a life.

Grey Matter

Square A and Square B are the same shade of grey. They ARE.Check out the proof and other brilliant illusions here.

The myth of 20/20

I always thought 20/20 vision meant 'perfect vision', until I started this LASIK gig.

I got my eyes zapped just over a week ago and the doc said at my 1 week checkup that my vision is now 20/12. So what does that mean, am I now half blind or what?

I would appear not. According to this site the use of the term "20/20" refers to this complex calculation created by some Dutch dood called Snellen (1834-1908)

Someone with 20/20 (visual acuity) is just able to decipher a letter that subtends a visual angle of 5 minutes of arc (written 5') at the eye. (5' of arc is 5/60 of a degree, because there are 60' of arc in 1 degree.) What this means is that if you draw a line from the top of a 20/20 letter to the eye and another line from the bottom of the letter to the eye, the size of the angle at the intersection of these two lines at the eye is 5' of arc. (Also, the individual parts of the letter subtend a visual angle of 1' of arc at the eye.) It does not matter how far away something is from the eye; if it subtends an angle of 5' of arc at the eye, then a person with 20/20 visual acuity will just be able to determine what it is.

The bottom line is, 20/20 is considered to be what a person with "Normal" vision can see at 20ft. (I read a couple of sites that talked about being about to read a 20 size letter at 20 feet, but that sounds like bullshit to me). Everyone is probably familiar with Snellen's Artwork, which is known as "The Snellen Chart"

Trivia snippet:"Only the nine letters C, D, E, F, L, O, P, T, Z are used in the traditional Snellen chart"

Apparently 20/10 is extremely rare, it's almost freakish....so 20/12 is pretty damn good then. What this means is I can see an object that is 50ft away, while someone with 20/20 vision has to be 30ft away.
As you can imagine, 10 days ago I had reasonably thick glasses to correct Myopia (Nearsightedness), so I was expecting (hoping) to get 20/20 out of the LASIK zapping. To get 20/12 is beyond my wildest dreams. I am a lucky bastard, that is what.
Next time you can't quite see something, give me a call.

The most comprehensive thing about Vision Acuity I could find
A "Random Snellon" online eyetest
Buy your own Snellen chart from Amazon(you know you want to)

Frickin' Laser Beams

Dr. Evil: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that cannot be done. Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly? Throw me a bone here! What do we have?
Number Two: Sea Bass.
Dr. Evil: [pause] Right.
Number Two: They're mutated sea bass.
Dr. Evil: Are they ill tempered?
Number Two: Absolutely.
Dr. Evil: Oh well, that's a start.

AustinPowers.com

Put another log on the fire

Several years ago I found a program online that contained a database of foods and exercise, and it allowed the accurate tracking of personal nutrition. It was an interesting exercise to do that for a month or so, as it really makes you think about what you are eating.
Yesterday, I did a search and found a 2006 online version called Nutridiary.

I am constantly blown away these days by what is available over the web for free. This online program is no exception. It contains a very respectable database of common foods, each with all the nutritional info. It allows the user to add custom foods (and enter the nutritional info if desired) and to build up meals of common eaten foods. The point being that there is a log feature that allows the user to add food and meals consumed, and track the amount of calories burned thru exercise.
I'm not a nutritional expert (obviously) but it's about as accurate a way of tracking this stuff as I can imagine. The graphs and reports on nutrition, exercise, weight goals etc is easy to use and slick.

A quick free registration, and you're in business.

www.nutridiary.com
Weight loss secrets

Sonicrave

I have been reading a website for about 3 years now, by a guy Rob Cockerham. The site is www.cockeyed.com. It's an interesting site full of pranks, weird experiments and lost of interesting trivia type stuff.
One of my favorite stories is the one when he tried to win a Chevy Trailblazer. Especially the Epilogue on page 3.
Anyway, he has just done a blurb on 4 awesome products and the second one he chose, was the Sonicare Toothbrush. Recently, Joyce was raving about the orgasmic Sonicare also. Both these people are semi-insane, so I take them seriously.
I had to go get one of these Sonicare toothbrushes for myself.
Firstly, I have already got a Braun Electric toothbrush and 2 days ago, I thought to myself why would I possibly need another electric toothbrush?
Rob said "If you don't have a Sonicare right now, get one when you get paid, or ask for one on your birthday. They will change your life, and probably save you money at your dentist."
Joyce said "oh,oh,ohhhhhhhhhhh.......It's the best money I've ever spent"

So that was it, I went to the 3C and got one. They had three models, but the guy subtlely pointed out the NEW model, the e7300 elite. (like I was ever going to buy any other model)

Well, firstly....it is friggen amazing....and orgasmic. They were not lying to me. I used it 6 times the first night.
So why is it so good? Let me explain. My last braun toothbrush died about 6 months ago, and when I got a new one I took the old one to bits. There wasn't much to it, just a ni-cad AA battery core and a 50 cent electric motor in it, like slotcar motor, only cheaper. They was a plastic cam arrangement (and egg shaped thing) that coverted the rotary motion into a back-and-forth jiggle. That's it. Oh yeah, and a clickclack switch to make it all happen. This is 1910 technology, people.
I haven't take the Sonicare apart (yet) but my observations indicate a few things. It has a signal type activation button, no click clack. It has beeps, it had multicolored status LEDs and programmable timer. This in DIGITAL baby - A friggen computer.
(Philips is the company that invented the CD, so it's hardly surprising)
Apart from that, it uses a classy induction charger and they say it lasts for 2 weeks between chargers, so they include a nice travel case with it - for your up-to-2-week holiday.
I have no idea what the technology is that makes the sonic head do it's digital-sonic thing, but it's amazing. I have never had teeth so clean, so easily.

So there you go. Rush out and buy one of these. It's really expensive, but if it saves one trip to the dentist, it's paid for itself like that, and I am convinced it will.

Sonicare e7300 Elite website
Cockeyed.com