Minor things that bother you

[kphoger]

... it would be malpractice to recommend no correction whatsoever when the vision exam says otherwise.

It wouldn't be malpractice to say something like, "Your vision is kind of right on the line of needing glasses and not needing them.  Would you still like me to write a scrip, or do want to try going without them for a while before you make a decision?"

But that isn't what happens.  They just write you a scrip.

[Scott5114]

When stores try to hide the fact that they're out of a product by putting another, similar-looking product in the spot on the shelf belonging to the product they're out of. For example, being out of meat lover's frozen lasagna and filling the space with veggie lover's frozen lasagna to make it less obvious they're out of the meat lover's kind.

I'm betting that, at least sometimes, that's a stock-boy error rather than a top-down malicious decision.

I think the truth is somewhere in between–there's somebody in middle management who thinks it looks "unprofessional" for there to be a bare spot on a shelf, so the stockers put the wrong thing in the spot so they won't get chewed out.

During the early parts of the pandemic, this same store had a wide variety of Cheez-Its filling up the empty toilet paper shelves. That's what makes me think that it's not malicious intent, but trying to appease some neurotic manager. It's not like someone who came to buy toilet paper can be tricked into buying Cheez-Its instead.

Personally, if I were managing something like that, I would want the big obvious bare spot on the shelf so that it's more obvious to the people who order stuff what we're out of stock on, to the people who restock that restocking needs to happen, etc.

[kphoger]

Or:  Well, I've got 32 boxes of meat lover's lasagna here, and there's only room for 18.  Looks like the other 14 are going in the veggie lover's spot instead.

Of course, it would never play out exactly like that, for two reasons:

1.  The stock-boy just did mental math.  Yeah, right, even the clerks at the register can't do mental math.

2.  There's no way the veggie lover's lasagna would sell out faster than the meat lover's.

[GaryV]

... it would be malpractice to recommend no correction whatsoever when the vision exam says otherwise.

It wouldn't be malpractice to say something like, "Your vision is kind of right on the line of needing glasses and not needing them.  Would you still like me to write a scrip, or do want to try going without them for a while before you make a decision?"

But that isn't what happens.  They just write you a scrip.

My last exam, the eye doctor wrote me a new script, but told me that it wasn't changed enough to warrant buying new glasses. They have in-house optician services.

[tchafe1978]

... it would be malpractice to recommend no correction whatsoever when the vision exam says otherwise.

It wouldn't be malpractice to say something like, "Your vision is kind of right on the line of needing glasses and not needing them.  Would you still like me to write a scrip, or do want to try going without them for a while before you make a decision?"

But that isn't what happens.  They just write you a scrip.

My last exam, the eye doctor wrote me a new script, but told me that it wasn't changed enough to warrant buying new glasses. They have in-house optician services.

The doctor can write you a script and make his recommendations, but of course it's up to you as to whether you use it to get new glasses or whatever. You just had the exam and paid the doctor, there is no harm in them writing you the script. If your eyes haven't changed and your current glasses are fine, i.e. the lenses aren't scratched up and the frame isn't broken, take your script and go home. I work in a vision center and we have people all the time who leave without buying new glasses. Either they don't need them right now or they're going to order from someplace else or online. Our optometrist is also independent, he rents the space from the store and it is in his contract that he pays for admin services such as appointment scheduling, etc. But he his completely removed from the retail portion of the business, so he has nothing to gain if someone buys glasses here or somewhere else. He's also bound by regulations and professional ethics and integrity, so there are rules in place for how long a script is good for, and how he treats the patients, and the recommendations he makes. It's not just so he can keep people coming back every year and feeding him money.

[hbelkins]

If you have a doctor -- any doctor -- who is writing prescriptions for medications or corrective devices that are not necessary, especially without consulting with the patient about the marginal need for those prescriptions, then I would suggest that they are engaging in unethical behavior.

But every medical professional has a different opinion on the need for treatment. For years, my creatinine levels have been on the high side of normal. It's not anything that my doctor ever prescribed anything for, but his choice was just to monitor the levels and take action when needed. After his death last year, I had to find a new doctor. My new one, after my first examination and blood work, prescribed Farxiga even though my creatinine level was basically what it usually is. He felt a need to prescribe a medication where my previous doctor did not.

I had an eye exam last week. The results were that the vision in one eye wasn't any different, and the vision in the other eye had changed just slightly -- not enough, he said, to warrant a new pair of glasses.

[J N Winkler]

It wouldn't be malpractice to say something like, "Your vision is kind of right on the line of needing glasses and not needing them.  Would you still like me to write a scrip, or do want to try going without them for a while before you make a decision?"

That's pretty much how it has worked at my optometrist.  (Mind you, I haven't been back in quite a while.)

But that isn't what happens.  They just write you a scrip.

This makes me wonder about the business model in play, since that would seem to imply lack of interest in a continuing relationship.

[GaryV]

My doctor wrote a scrip because, if for some reason I needed new glasses (say they were broken) then I'd replace them with the changed scrip. But he specifically told me that I didn't need to replace my current glasses. That's not prescribing something you don't need; that's being proactive.

[Georgia Guardrail]

People who order takeout from fancy/interesting restaurants.  What's the point? 

Wouldn't you rather enjoy the food at its freshest and the restaurant ambiance?

[Scott5114]

Re: the eye doctor thing–I think there's a natural tendency in any field to want to do "something" when called upon by someone, even when "nothing" might be the right course of action. Even if a patient has had little change in their vision, not writing a scrip may make a patient feel like their time was wasted by the doctor, so they may be less likely to pursue further treatment from that doctor. May as well write a scrip that's off by like 0.01 from the previous one just so that the customer feels like they're getting their money's worth.

People who order takeout from fancy/interesting restaurants.  What's the point? 

Wouldn't you rather enjoy the food at its freshest and the restaurant ambiance?

This is one of those "yes, but" situations.

Whenever I order take out, one or more of the following is probably true:
- None of us feel like getting dressed up, leaving the house, doing protocol with the server, etc.
- My wife is not physically up to going out.
- We have an event going on at the house (a game of some kind, pool party) for which leaving en masse doesn't make a lot of sense.

Now, we don't mess around with the extreme $100-a-plate fancy restaurants–even if we had the money for that I would oppose eating there on principle because they don't provide good value for money in my opinion. And, yes, I would say it would be really weird to spend that much money only to hand it off to a DoorDash driver with five other orders in his car.

Also, restaurant ambiance doesn't do much for me. When I spend money on food, my attention is on the food, not the surroundings. That's not to say that I don't like eating in an architecturally interesting space, but it's also not something I'm willing to pay more for.

[DenverBrian]

I never buy glasses from the optometrist. Only from www.zenni.com. Sooooo much cheaper.

And if you don't have severe astigmatism, and your eyes are roughly the same power, you can now get glasses on Amazon for $15-$20. We've had "reading glasses" with + power forever, but lately, you can buy glasses with - power. The $20 pair I got on Amazon at -3.75 matches my right eye prescription, is very close to my left eye prescription, and I don't have much astigmatism. And they're pretty stylish. Much easier and cheaper than $80 or $120 at Costco.

[ZLoth]

People who order takeout from fancy/interesting restaurants.  What's the point? 

Wouldn't you rather enjoy the food at its freshest and the restaurant ambiance?

While I see your point, I've also had some recent adult caregiver issues where the parent was stuck in bed. If it was for an extended period, I may order out a fancy meal to make their recovery period a bit earlier.

Now, we don't mess around with the extreme $100-a-plate fancy restaurants–even if we had the money for that I would oppose eating there on principle because they don't provide good value for money in my opinion. (text deleted) Also, restaurant ambiance doesn't do much for me. When I spend money on food, my attention is on the food, not the surroundings. That's not to say that I don't like eating in an architecturally interesting space, but it's also not something I'm willing to pay more for.

There is a steakhouse in the DFW area called Texas that I would consider one of the best steakhouses in the area. Not only is it family-owned, but it is also around the corner from where I live. It is expensive, but you taste it in the quality of the food that is served there. Another is a French restaurant called Lavendou which serves some of the best French food and which a neighbor highly recommends and has given me gift certificates in exchange for work that I perform because I'm a nice guy.

Mind you, these aren't places that I would consider going to on a regular basis, but for very special occasions (like very good friends coming from out of town, mother's day), they are a treat.

[kphoger]

People who order takeout from fancy/interesting restaurants.  What's the point? 

Wouldn't you rather enjoy the food at its freshest and the restaurant ambiance?

Presumably, the reason is the same as ordering takeout from un-fancy/un-interesting restaurants.

Are you saying it's better to order takeout from mediocre places?

[MATraveler128]

When people leave their turn signal on for miles after turning and don't shut it off until they get home.

[GaryV]

... and don't shut it off until they get home.

Naah, they leave it on to bother the next guy on the next day.

[elsmere241]

When people leave their turn signal on for miles after turning and don't shut it off until they get home.

My new van beeps at you and turns the signal off if it's on for a while.  Sometimes I wind up turning it back on because I'm about to enter a ramp or something.

[kphoger]

When people leave their turn signal on for miles after turning and don't shut it off until they get home.

You follow them home??

[ethanhopkin14]

When people leave their turn signal on for miles after turning and don't shut it off until they get home.

You follow them home??

I usually do, just to be sure. 

[jakeroot]

When people leave their turn signal on for miles after turning and don't shut it off until they get home.

You follow them home??

I usually do, just to be sure.

The correct response would have been...

[wxfree]

Multiples of less

I know what "one third less" means and what "ten percent less" means, but what does "three times less" mean?  When you say "three times more" you're referring to the obvious reference point of zero, such that 12 is three times more than four.  But I've heard the phrase of some number times less, usually referring to a price.  It makes no sense.

There has to be some kind of reference point.  For example, 7 is three times less than 9 if the reference point is 10, because 9 is one less than 10 and 7 is 3 less.  If one thing costs three times less than something else, what does that mean?  A comparison requires three values, the two compared values and a reference point.  If the comparison is positive, then the reference point is zero, but if the comparison is negative, what is the reference value?  What does it mean for something to cost three times less than something else if there is no value to compare it to?

[Max Rockatansky]

All last Tuesday everyone I've run into has led their conversations off with "it's so hot out"  amid the current heat wave.  I find those complaints to be incredibly annoying given I live in a city where 100-105F weather is common in the summer.  If something like high heat is common, what's the point of complaining about it to everyone you know?

[ZLoth]

All last Tuesday everyone I've run into has led their conversations off with "it's so hot out"  amid the current heat wave.  I find those complaints to be incredibly annoying given I live in a city where 100-105F weather is common in the summer.

Makes me want to reply: "So, it's HOT outside? Let me remind you of the snowfall from last February when you were complaining about how COLD it was."

Right now, my complaint is having to clean up after a brief but nasty storm that dumped 1.16" inches of rain and the winds blowing down branches from water-deprived trees.

[Max Rockatansky]

All last Tuesday everyone I've run into has led their conversations off with "it's so hot out"  amid the current heat wave.  I find those complaints to be incredibly annoying given I live in a city where 100-105F weather is common in the summer.

Makes me want to reply: "So, it's HOT outside? Let me remind you of the snowfall from last February when you were complaining about how COLD it was."

Right now, my complaint is having to clean up after a brief but nasty storm that dumped 1.16" inches of rain and the winds blowing down branches from water-deprived trees.

I lived in Phoenix for thirteen, dry heat doesn't bother me I guess.  It was tangibly more miserable in Philadelphia in the low 80s due to humidity after rain.

When was I complaining about cold and snowfall in Fresno?  The latter seems semi-plausible, especially if I went for a run outside and it was super windy.  The only real reason I would complain about snow is if I was somehow obstructed from going somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by bad weather.

[US 89]

All last Tuesday everyone I've run into has led their conversations off with "it's so hot out"  amid the current heat wave.  I find those complaints to be incredibly annoying given I live in a city where 100-105F weather is common in the summer.  If something like high heat is common, what's the point of complaining about it to everyone you know?

Because it's September and it is not supposed to be that hot this late?

[Max Rockatansky]

All last Tuesday everyone I've run into has led their conversations off with "it's so hot out"  amid the current heat wave.  I find those complaints to be incredibly annoying given I live in a city where 100-105F weather is common in the summer.  If something like high heat is common, what's the point of complaining about it to everyone you know?

Because it's September and it is not supposed to be that hot this late?

Yes, all the same 90% of conversations don't need to start off about it.  Even in Monterey people were asking me how hot it was in Fresno. 

I still want to know where I complained about snow in Fresno...