So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[tonyb]

Too many inserts in the Sunday paper -- coupons, rotogravure magazine, funnies. False economy. Old phone books are the way to go.

They still make phone books?

I recall Sears catalogs alongside the seating arrangements in country outhouses. But that's going back more than half a century now.

 

[Zombie_61]

I've found high quality frames these days, easily the equal of the glasses I had as a kid, but the prices are OUTRAGEOUS! A couple-three hundred bucks or more for maybe an ounce (do they even weigh that much?) of plastic and a couple of itty-bitty hinges?

Boy, you ain't kiddin'! My glasses--wire frame with plastic lenses--cost me around $200, and that was after our insurance paid about half. :eusa_doh:

And I don't even wear them all of the time (although my "glasses free" days are numbered). About 10-12 years ago I noticed my "near"vision was starting to go, so I wear them mostly for reading. My distance vision is still 20/20 (barely), so I have two sets of bifocals--one in the house, and one in my truck for when I'm driving in unfamiliar areas at night and need that slight bit of clarity to read the street signs before I actually get to the street, and so I can read the menus when we go out to eat. And when I'm not wearing them I keep them in their respective hard cases to protect them.

The funny thing is, I got my first pair in 2004. Then I got my second pair two years later when our insurance allowed for it. When I got home I compared the two, and discovered I'd chosen the exact same frames two years apart. lol I suppose you could say I have particular tastes.

 

[2jakes]

I recall Sears catalogs alongside the seating arrangements in country outhouses. But that's going back more than half a century now.

Those Sears catalogs bring good money nowadays.

 

[Hercule]

Those Sears catalogs bring good money nowadays.

I almost hate to ask what the corn cobs are for, but please say they're... On second thought, forget it.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^

Ever heard the expression "rougher'n a cob"?

Another thing to keep in mind (or somewhere) whenever a person gets a bit too misty-eyed over the good old days.

 

[LizzieMaine]

All this technological progress, and they still haven't come up with an "app" for that. Get busy, Silicon Valley.

 

[Edward]

I've found high quality frames these days, easily the equal of the glasses I had as a kid, but the prices are OUTRAGEOUS! A couple-three hundred bucks or more for maybe an ounce (do they even weigh that much?) of plastic and a couple of itty-bitty hinges?

I've found frames to be relatively cheap (especially sticking wit classicstyles that I can have relensed); the killer with price comes in with lenses. I guess, if I went for an all-singing, photochromic pair, I'd be looking at GBP150 or so for lenses. I'dl ove 'em to be cheaper, though I can certainly see where the money goes, once you take into account that we're not just buying a bit of plastic, but paying for the skilled servies of a qualified professional to make/shape/cut the correct lenses....

The industry gets away with it for a few reasons, not the least of which is that glasses-wearers are no less vain than the population at large, and because often a substantial piece of the cost is picked up by the insurance company, so the patient isn't out of pocket all that much.

Insurance issues can do that; we don't have the equivalent over here. I pay the full charge for all my glasses, though up until eighteen (and if I was on benefits or in full time education thereafter) I would have been able to claim a significant proportion (in many cases, the full amount) of the cost from the NHS. I'm sure that helps to keep the cost down a bit more here than what I hear from the US sometimes.

What I don't miss about the eyeglasses of my youth are the glass lenses. Yes, they were generally more scratch-resistant than the plastics used these days, but they were a helluva lot more heavy. Aviator styles were fashionable in my high school years. Big ol' lenses. Big ol' heavy lenses. The nose pads dug divots into my schnoz.

Oh, I remember those..... I also remember the pair I had when I was twelve, where they got dropped and a lense broke, or the pair I got when I was fourteen, one lense of which got broken the first night I brought them home.... Plastic lenses definitley scratch easier, but it's much easier to look past a scratch than to have a broken lense!

 

[ingineer]

Edward;
These guys did an outstanding job reglazing my 40's gold rimless frames
http://www.selectspecs.com/lens-replacement/
Dale brought up these, nearly unbreakable just like my first pair from my favorite supplier
http://optometristattic.com/7327_Optometrist_Attic.htm
Randolhpingineering and Shuron and Artcraft still make the better frames here.
Raybans for RX are all made in the middle empire

 

[2jakes]

Ever heard the expression “rougher’n a cob”?

Another thing to keep in mind (or somewhere) whenever a person gets a bit too misty-eyed over the good old days.

“The Good Old Days” --


[video=youtube;pPcfcjFZ0Io]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPcfcjFZ0Io[/video]


On Dec. 19, 1973.

His writers had heard earlier in the day about a Wisconsin congressman, Harold Froehlich.
Froehlich claimed that the federal government was falling behind in getting bids to supply
toilet paper and that “The U.S. may face a serious shortage within a few months.

His writers decided to include a joke based in Carson’s monologue. He said “you know what's
disappearing from the supermarket shelves? Toilet paper. There’s an acute shortage of toilet
paper in the U.S.

Next morning, many of the 20 million viewers ran to the supermarket & bought all the
toilet paper they could find. By noon, most of the stores were out of stock.

Johnny Carson went on the air several nights later & explained that there was no shortage & apologized
for scaring the public.

Unfortunately, people saw all the empty shelves in the stores, so the stampede continued.

Scott paper showed video of their plants in full production to the public & asked them to stay calm -
there was no shortage. The video was of little help. The panic fed itself and continued.

They finally got the shelves restocked three weeks later & the shortage was over.

It’s the only time in American history that the consumer actually created a major shortage.
And it all started as a joke.

 

[Harp]

The Mets high velocity bullpen. :eeek: Dominance forces evolution. And New York's pitching is fantastic. :eusa_clap

 

[Stearmen]

Back to eyeglasses....I've been wearing a pair of Criss Optical govt. spec BCGs for years now. They're made of the same unbreakable nylon that pocket combs are made of, and you can score a brand new pair for about $30, so in the unlikely event that they do break, you aren't out much.

Oh yeah, and they still make 'em in Wichita, Kansas, right here in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Ah, the good old BCGs. Making Marines look like nerds since 1950!

 

[GHT]

[video=youtube;pPcfcjFZ0Io]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPcfcjFZ0Io[/video]

So, is that where the expression: "Let me float this past you," was born?

 

[Hercule]

After almost 15 years of service, suddenly being required to punch a time clock.

 

[LizzieMaine]

In Keppitalist America, man sticks it to you!

 

[Harp]

In Keppitalist America, man sticks it to you!

Da tavarich komerade, but thankfully the man isn't eligible for reelection.

 

[tonyb]

After almost 15 years of service, suddenly being required to punch a time clock.

Let me guess ...

New manager(s)?

 

[Edward]

Edward;
These guys did an outstanding job reglazing my 40's gold rimless frames
http://www.selectspecs.com/lens-replacement/
Dale brought up these, nearly unbreakable just like my first pair from my favorite supplier
http://optometristattic.com/7327_Optometrist_Attic.htm
Randolhpingineering and Shuron and Artcraft still make the better frames here.
Raybans for RX are all made in the middle empire

Thanks, I'll look at those. My frames are all Shurons; great stuff. Really nice company to deal with, too - especially given it's transatlantic.

 

[Fading Fast]

After almost 15 years of service, suddenly being required to punch a time clock.

This happened to me after 15 or so years with the company (we had to fill out time cards and have them signed by our manager), but in our case, it was driven by the Department of Labor's rules and documentation requirements, which were so onerous, that the only way to comply was by requiring a lot of employees (like me) who hadn't punched a time clock in years, to (effectively) do so again. The company did not want to do it - it both created a negative vibe (no explanation there, "you want me to do what!") and cost the company a lot of money and employee time (I was a manager and checking and signing forms was time consuming).

I feel your pain (or used to, I now work for myself - which has other challenges).

 

[Hercule]

Let me guess ...

New manager(s)?

No, though I wish... I think it's more a matter of HR/payroll (it's a University) streamlining their processes and downsizing their staff, although the new 30hrs=full time issue probably has a lot to do with it as well (we needn't go there, or that certain person ineligible for reelection, as that would be a quick ticket to moderation). The down side is that we will now be required to use the same time-clock system as the students - btw it automatically deducts a half hour at the six hour mark, ostensibly for a break/lunch. Ain't that a fine how do you do for three people (in in my department at least) with advanced degrees and qualifications - two with professional degrees and one with a doctorate - and long time service to the institution. Downright rude, unappreciative, distrustful and demeaning in my opinion.

We've been filling out time sheets all along but nothing so rigorous as down to the minute accounting. And I've always been generous about what I didnt' claim, trying to be very flexible where hours and coverage have been concerned. I was even able to bank hours for comp time. It all evened out and was generally good. I suppose the upside to using etime will be, because I'll have to clock in and out for lunch, I'll actually get paid for the remainder of those 10 minute lunches I usually take, and those extra "can I ask you something before you leave" situations. I'm afraid generosity and flexibility are going out the door with this one.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I suppose the upside to using etime will be, because I'll have to clock in and out for lunch, I'll actually get paid for the remainder of those 10 minute lunches I usually take...

If it becomes an issue, I'd bet H.R. will mandate you take the full 30 minute lunch break; that's generally how it works here in California.

The last company I worked for was owned by a corporation when I started working for them in 1987, and was sold in 2000 when the corporation elected to downsize. Nine months later the new owners were bought out by a company based in the U.K., who immediately decided we needed to "play by the rules". For six decades the employees were only required to clock in and out at the beginning and end of their/our shifts (and the payroll department would simply deduct 30 minutes for lunch breaks), and suddenly we also had to clock in and out for break periods, lunch, if we left the premises for non-work-related reasons, and so on. Unfortunately, they neglected to notify the payroll department of this new requirement, so for the first month or so there were a whole lot of paychecks that were short by 30-60 minutes.

Then they decided to send us a new time clock--some sort of gizmo that read the employees' fingerprints, allegedly to prevent one employee from clocking in or out for another employee. The problem was that they never sent us the new clock's "back up" battery, without which it wouldn't operate. So someone from the home office would call to scold us for not using the new time clock, we'd remind them that we hadn't received the battery, they'd assure us that one would be sent immediately, and nothing more would happen until three or four months later when they would call again to scold us for not using the new time clock; lather, rinse, repeat. This went on for nearly five years until they finally closed the plant and sold the property upon which it sat. shakeshead