I watched some, not too much, of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and they sure were impressive in HD. All of the coverage is in HD, and it’s scaled down for regular TV. This made me think about the looming end of analog broadcast TV on February 17, 2009. When that happens, my little LCD TV that Carol bought for me Christmas 1999, will no longer work.[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/AUG/China.flv 440 330]This TV is very important to me, because it’s what got me out of a very deep and dark place emotionally, while I was face down for weeks on end, stuck in something called a vitrectomy chair, following a second surgery for a detached retina.
Before getting that TV I listened to the radio all day, but as much as I love radio, doing that didn’t lift my spirits. Reading was impractical, but I could put that portable TV on the tray of the chair and watch it out of my “good” eye, which later had problems of its own.
There was a UHF station in Boston that showed a lot of old Bonanza episodes, and those became the highlight of my day. I was amazed by how adult the show was, and by how much innuendo there was in the writing.
Besides the TV, something else Carol did that was helpful was she read out loud from Thomas Hardy’s tragic book “The Mayor of Casterbridge.” It’s not a very cheerful story, but I really got into it, and enjoyed discussing its characters and themes with Carol. Since then we’ve watched several different adaptations of “The Mayor of Casterbridge.” The recent A&E production is very good, but Dennis Potter’s version with Alan Bates is probably our favorite.
And I must also say thank you to D.F. Rogers, who played Dragnet radio shows from the 50’s for me, that we listened to on Eric’s toy R2-D2 cassette player. When I was down and out, doing that was a lot of fun. Hard to believe that was almost nine years ago.
The vision in one of my eyes is corrected for closer viewing, and the other for distance vision. There is one sweet spot distance from which both eyes see about the same, but usually when I watch TV I’m looking through just my right eye, so technically I’m monocular. It’s surprising easy how to teach yourself to change your dominant eye instantly, back and forth.
My dad just purchased an HD TV and even though he has monocular (is that a word?) vision he can see things really well. Mom loves it and we talked about as a teen and in her 20’s she saw kinescopes and black and white TV and now is seeing HD.
Hi! Ouch! Doug! I’d say someone is watching over you in that you’ve had all that happen and still have vision! I’m glad the surgeon(s) were able to do what they’ve done! About the robot, I don’t remember the Turing Test being mentioned, but from what I assume, everything a robot “thinks” would have to be “taught” via software, only the little bugger answers correctly due to the right stimulus from the human asker and the programmer. Every nuance would have to be programmed in. That’s mind-boggling. The robots are to be used as companions and monitors for home health. It was weird to hear the presenter ask how it was and it say, “Fine. How are you?”. Like having your own free-thinking Teddy Ruxpin bear!
In the item about the robot did they mention anything about the Turing Test?
Fluid is circulating through everybody’s eyes all the time, which is very important for maintaining intraocular pressure. When I was face down my eye was filled with a gas bubble that held the retina in place while it healed. Sometimes the vitreous is removed without a retinal detachment, in which case a bubble isn’t needed, and saline solution is injected.
When I was twelve the family cat scratched the white of one eye open. It leaked and the eye started to collapse. My own fault for trying to pet him while he was eating, to say goodbye when leaving for school.
Oh my goodness! I can only imagine what that would be like. I was thinking one day someone will come up with a solution for the freezing by making a safe, natural anti-freezing fluid for the eye. A few weeks ago on BBC World Service an inventor brought on a robot that has the power to “think” and carry on a conversation. The news presenter said it was kind of unnerving to be around. They said the robot would be useful in California if you wanted to drive “alone” in the car pool lane!
My retinologist deals with a lot of macular degeneration cases. The dry variety is very bad. I don’t know — and don’t want to know — what my long-term prognosis is. I still have the vitreous in my right eye, but eventually it will probably have to come out. For all of my eye trouble, I must say having my left eye completely free and clear of anything floating around is nice. The catch is, I have to be careful in extremely cold weather, because without the vitreous the fluid can start to freeze up.
My goodness, Doug, I’m grateful for what science has done! That’s scary, of course, when eyesight is involved and it’s great that they had the implants! My dad has the beginning signs of macular degeneration in his right eye (he’s 81) and as a child he lost his left eye due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time-up in a nearby tree not far from where 2 boys were having archery practice. Yeah…so maybe macular implants, if possible, are too far away in the future for him, but my sister said Glaxo Smith Kline has a cancer drug that has helped patients who also have macular degeneration. Dad has an excellent driving record and at least 65 years experience, but he said soon he’ll likely have Mom take over. I just can’t imagine driving without vision in both eyes but he did well and got used to it quick. Now, as for Bonanza, maybe that show you saw was inspiration for “Brokeback Mountain”!
I tried watching “Gunsmoke” a couple of times, but just couldn’t connect to it, but I’ve always enjoyed Bonanza. In one episode, Little Joe was pinned down by a couple of bad guys, and they said, “He’s a right purty little feller, ain’t he?” I nearly fell over laughing! I never would have picked up on that as a kid.
My eyes are more or less OK, but I’m totally dependent upon my Bausch&Lomb LI61U ocular implants. They’ve got to last the rest of my life, and I was more than 20 years early getting them, compared to most cataract patients.
Hi Doug! Wow, you’ve had some hardship with your eyes and hopefully they will be fine for the rest of the life and times of The Great Dograt! When Bonanza was on for it’s original run I was a kid. Since then I’ve seen it every so many years, the most recent on TV Land. The older I get I appreciate it for its charm, gentle humor and poignancy. My favorite character of course was Hoss. We lost Dan Blocker way too soon. Had he lived I would’ve loved to seen what he’d act in after the westerns left TV.
Yes, when you’re down and out, you find out who your real friends and loved ones are! Yeah, we’re all “going digital.” I always tease Tom and Molly that it’s yet another government conspiracy to “control the masses!”