|
 |
Wednesday, December 29, 2004 |
I would think that being a physician at a lasik-only eye center would get SOOOO boring. Boring all the way to the bank, no doubt, but still boring. Same thing, every day. The rare times you have a complicated case, that is really bad, because it means your patient had complications with elective cosmetic surgery.
7:56:52 PM 
|
|
Just had my Lasik "enhancement" for my right eye, hopefully to bring it to 20-20 or better. And, more importantly, to reduce the "starburst effect" of lights in the dark. It's not intolerable, but it is not insignificant. If it weren't for that consideration, I probably would not have bothered with the enhancement. My left is 20-20, my right is 20-30 or better, and together they are a strong 20-20.
In fairness to LasikPlus, they definitely counseled me in advance that my right eye was bad enough that it was likely I might need an enhancement to get to perfect.
The enhancement was a snap, now at the 4-hour mark. Easier than the original, since they did not have to re-cut the flap.
7:55:20 PM
|
|
Here is another good counter-example in the face of claims that the cost of liability is over-stated: "Hospitals usually claim they're trying to protect mothers and babies from harm. But the truth is that hospitals ban VBACs for legal and business reasons, not medical ones. Several mothers have sued in recent years when VBACs led to uterine ruptures and damage to mother or baby. Some of these women won awards in the millions, usually because the emergency C-section had taken too long or the doctor hadn't warned them of increased risk. A key issue in such suits is a 1999 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guideline calling for "immediate" availability of O.R. teams to support VBACs. Immediate, on-site availability of such teams thus quickly became a de facto legal standard."
7:52:16 PM
|
|
Just bought Lady Gophers Basketball tix for Ainslee and me for Sunday. $16 each, plus a $2 each service charge, ouch! I remember, a decade ago, Lady Hoosier tickets were FREE! I suppose it is a Good Thing, that people are willing, now, to pay to see the women play. But does it have to be so much? How about sticking to the single digits, comparable to the price of a movie?!
7:52:15 PM
|
|
I had previously written skeptically of Sony's new, high-end "Qualia" line (Qualia:Sony::Lexus:Toyota x 10) , and for some reason, got to wondering how it was doing. Didn't turn up much presence at all on the web. The most plausible hypothesis seems to be that it is all about enhancing Sony's prestige.
That may be correct, but I think Qualia is a joke in the United States. My impression is that a significant segment of Japanese society probably does have some level of interest in ogling esoteric stuff, in a way that may generate both foot-traffic and brand prestige for the parent company. However, I think Americans a FAR more pragmatic. Yes, I understand the "Dodge Viper-effect" (an unprofitable, ultra-premium product confers prestige to the main brand), but I don't see that applying here. If you buy something remotely so expensive ($4000 for a point-and-shoot digicam)--even granting the hypothesis that there a target market of people who would be willing to pay such prices if convinced of the intangible value--it needs to have enduring value. Consumer electronics just don't. A un-scratchable lens that will last a lifetime is impressive, but if the camera is surpassed within 2 years by $250 off-the-shelf stuff, it suggests not prestige, but rather confers emperor-has-no-clothes foolishness.
Consumer electronics just moves too fast to support an ultra-premium line (let alone an ultra-ultra-ultra premium line, priced like Ferraris). The ironic thing, to me, is that Sony already is a premium line. Sorry, but I think that Sony's current exalted state (over-rated, as I have commented before) is as good as the brand-premium gets in consumer electronics.
7:52:13 PM
|
|
"The Explainer" is a very good little regular feature of Slate magazine. This one addresses what must be a very common misconception (I had it): 'Despite ancient fears of death’s "miasma," the foul odor emitted by the body as it rots is innocuous.'
6:30:59 AM
|
|
© Copyright 2005 Erik Neu.
|
|
|
