It’s Nice to See Again.

I had surgery to remove cataracts from my right eye about 2 weeks ago and I marvel on a daily basis about how bad my eyesight actually was.

For those who may not know what it is, cataracts is a problem where the lens of your eye over time becomes cloudy and starts to distort your vision. It is something that is primarily found when you get older. It comes on so slowly and gradually over years that you do not really notice how bad it is.

I found out when I went to an optometrist to get my glasses checked and found that my cataracts had reached the point where there was no correction possible through the use of glasses or contacts.

I had the first cataract removed on the 13th of December and it is the most fabulous thing ever. I am seeing a world I haven’t known for decades and that is with just one eye done. I go in this Tuesday to have my left eye done and I will be able see even better.

If there is anyone out there that is worried about the surgery I would highly recommend having it if needed. While it is like any surgery there are some risks and there is a vague possibility something could happen but it is so common and is done so often that complications are incredibly rare.

The procedure is very simple and it only takes about 10 minutes. The natural lens that is cloudy is removed from your eye and the new lens which is artificial, (acrylic in my case) is inserted. I had a little discomfort for a few hours right after the procedure, a little minor irritation the next day and I didn’t even notice it by the 3rd day.

If you need to have cataracts removed please do not be araid to have the procedure. Just make sure that the ophthalmologist that does the procedure has all your past and present medical information and please follow all the instructions given you for the pre and post operative time frames.

 

Technorati Tags: cataracts,glasses,vision,sight,surgery

What a Wonderful Day

I live for days like today. Sunny, very pleasant temperature and no rain. I realize that rain is needed for things to grow but we have had so very much in the past few months. I work a portion of my day outside, sometimes on ladders working up on cable lines and while I love this job to death, rain makes that part of it a bit unpleasant.

It also makes for some rough driving since so many people do not understand that when the weather gets bad you need to slow down because your car is not the same in rain, snow or ice as it is on dry pavement.

Technorati Tags: weather

Christmas shopping

 

I appreciate the guest post, Ignacio Phillips

In general, I’m not a big fan of advertisements for Christmas coming on direct TV when Halloween has barely passed by, but there is one thing I do appreciate about it – it reminds me to get a jump on present shopping so I don’t have to wait until the last minute. However, there’s only so much I can do ahead of time, especially since my sister and I do a large part of our shopping together, but live in different cities. We typically put our heads together on presents for both our parents and stepparents. Also, my mom is really big on stockings and is, in my opinion, the best stocking stuffer that I have ever met. My sister and I feel as if she needs to have an equally awesome stocking, so we wait until we get home to our parents’ house and get things together for that on Christmas Eve. Now, my mom starts shopping for stuffers way back in the spring and summer, so there’s no way that our efforts can hold a candle to hers. We have to give it a solid try though.

Did Everyone Have a Safe Halloween?

 

This post is a bit late but I was thinking last night about my trip home from work Halloween night.

So many areas handle it so very differently. As I was driving through the city, in some of the poorer neighborhoods, the kids were out in force and seemed to be having a great time but there did not seem to be nearly as much adult supervision as there should have been. People darting in and out from between parked cars, after dark and many in dark costumes, is a recipe for disaster.

I drive a work vehicle and as soon as I saw what was going on I probably irritated the drivers behind me because I dropped my speed way down and put on my four way flashers and the caution beacon on top of the truck.

I was able to relax a bit once out of the city and driving through the country although some caution was needed every time I came across a cluster of houses.

The best handled trick or treat was a small country town that I pass through on the way home. They had electronic flares along the center line of the road the length of town. There were emergency vehicles at every major intersection and fire fighters in reflective gear at the other cross streets to protect the kids.

It is amazing how trick or treat can be handled in such an incredibly different way by municipalities no more than 10 – 15 miles apart.

Technorati Tags: Holiday,Halloween,Safety,Trick or Treat

The Occupy Movement. Are They Right?

 

The biggest problem with the occupy movement is that they have no real leadership to bring a focus on the goals.

With folks out yelling and waving signs it gets rather difficult to make out exactly what they want but I believe that I know.

They want jobs that pay well instead of the jobs that are offered now. Corporations are making record profits while offering lower and lower wages. This is the real problem over the years that caused a part of this trouble.

The wealthy were getting more and more wealthy, prices were increasing but salaries were staying flat so it became necessary for people to start using credit more and more to try and maintain a reasonable standard of living.

I do not expect anyone to be paid a lot just because they exist but there are millions of people out there that are absolutely critical to the day to day operations of many companies that are getting paid minimum wage or perhaps a tiny bit more.

This is because there are so many people looking for work that they can get anyone to do the job. The problem with that is that to some degree you get what you pay for and if you do not pay much???

There is no respect whatsoever for experience any longer and the government is just adding to that by paying lip service to the fact that there are companies that are not hiring the long unemployed or those that are older but they are not actually doing anything about it.

I am not a big fan of heavy regulations but for gods sake folks some regulations to keep things at least more or less in balance would be helpful.

I think most of the angst from the occupy folks is that they see us going back to the robber baron days of old.

Flying our colors for a patriotic holiday picnic

Guest post written by Tommy Prince

I'm a veteran, so the 4th of July is even more special to me. I can even trace back some of my ancestors to soldiers who fought in the

Technorati Tags: Holiday,picnic,4th of July,Fourth of July

Revolutionary War and helped our country win freedom. So every year I try to make my annual 4th of July picnic even more special. This year my grandkids are going to help me throw the picnic and doing the majority of the planning. But I'm still planning part of it just in case.

I was looking online for a picnic shelter for us to rent for the picnic and while I was doing that I saw the site http://www.hearingaids.Miracle-Ear.com. After I read through it some I decided to sign up for some hearing tests to see if I needed hearing aids. I would like to have some but we'll see what will happen after that.

I already got some flag tablecloths for our patriotic picnic to cover up the picnic tables with. I think that they're going to be really great for it. But of course the best part will be the food!

jaxons ice cream

 

Guest post from: Bruno Smith

Every Friday my family and I go out for dessert at Jaxons Ice Cream Parlor. This has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. It is about 30 minutes from where we live, but it is well worth the drive! I usually get an ice cream sundae, but if we have a large group of people with us, we will get what is called the "kitchen sink."The kitchen sink is 13 scoops of ice cream inside of a sink! It sounds crazy, but it is delicious! We enjoy going here for our desserts because of the memories that we have, as well as the service and the quality of the desserts. I can honestly say that we have no complaints from ever going here, which is hard to come by these days! We are actually planning to go to Jaxon's tonight! As soon as everyone gets home we will ha! ve our dinner, shower, set our home security alarm (Home alarm systems)and then get into the van and head out to get our wonderful dessert from Jaxon's Ice Cream Parlor!

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Feeling safe in todays world!

In today’s world with the economy still doing horribly despite what Washington says, and with Bin Laden having been killed and the specter of possible retaliation hanging over our heads it would be completely natural to feel somewhat insecure.

Depending on where you live of course you may be at more or less risk that the average person. If you are in a gated community or an area with frequent roving patrols then you probably already have an alarm. If not then you should certainly take a look at Home Alarm Systems.

For those in less secure areas such as myself, an alarm could be invaluable. It would be wise to take a look at Home Alarm Systems. Since we still have millions out of work and jobs are just starting to trickle in it will be a while till there is enough employment to help stem the tide of crime when those who are out of work get desperate and take any chance at all to get money.

Home Alarm Systems is a reliable and reputable company and I am comfortable with mentioning them to you. You of course must do your due diligence and research for yourself but I believe you will find that Home Alarm Systems will do the job for you.

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Gas price linked to supply of oil?

 

Certainly everyone is aware of the price of gas and it is time that someone is held accountable for it. President Obama has asked the Justice Department to look at this and see that there is no price gouging or collusion among the companies to keep the price artificially high. I suspect they will come back and say all is well and it is just supply and demand causing the problem.

That is so obviously not true that anyone should be able to spot it.

We currently have gas at around 4 dollars a gallon with oil having hit a high of a bit over 100 dollars a barrel. In 2008 gas prices were not very much higher than they are now with the price of oil going over 130 dollars a barrel.

It would appear that the groups that are buying futures have decided to manipulate the price of gas by running up gas futures rather than oil futures as they did in 2008.

Hopefully the Justice Department will actually help out the citizens of this country this time rather than just blowing smoke and pretending it didn’t happen so as to not offend political contributors.

Technorati Tags: economy,gas prices