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Post by rally2xs on Aug 17, 2017 8:22:16 GMT -5
Picked this up on Facebook. Looking at it directly is just not worth the risk in my opinion.
As an Optometrist , I want to express concern that I have about the solar eclipse on Monday, Aug 21. There are serious risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse directly, even when using solar filter glasses. Everyone should keep in mind if they or their children are considering this.
We have to keep in mind that some people will encounter the inability to control every aspect of this exercise. For instance, many solar eclipse glasses are made for adults, do not fit children well and should not be used without direct parental supervision. If the solar glasses do not filter out 100% of the harmful UV rays, if they are not used absolutely perfectly, or should there be a manufacturing defect in any of them, this will result in permanent and irreversible vision loss for any eye exposed. Just like sunburn to the skin, the effects are not felt or noticed immediately. I have a great fear that I will have patients in my office on Tuesday, Aug 22 who woke up with hazy, blurry vision that I cannot fix.
The biggest danger with children is ensuring proper use without direct parental supervision. As the eclipse passes over many places, including Columbus, the moon will not block 100% of the sun. Because so much of its light is blocked by the moon, if one looks at it without full protection, it does not cause pain as looking at the sun does on a regular day. Normally if you try to look at the sun, it physically hurts and you can't see anything. During an eclipse, however, it is easier to stare for a bit....and even less than 30 seconds of exposure to a partially eclipsed sun, you can burn a blind spot right to your most precious central vision. With solar glasses you can't see ANYTHING except the crescent of light of the sun. Kids could have a tendency to want to peak around the filter to see what is actually going on up there. One failure, just one, where education and supervision fail, will have such a devastating consequence.
Please, please be safe, or watch it on television if you do not have proper protection.
PS Feel free to share this post.
This, plus the statement by some of the vendors of supposed "eclipse glasses" now declaring them defective and unable to protect properly, says that if I look at it at all, it'll be with the shoebox and tinfoil projector recommended most everywhere on the net.
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DA
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Post by DA on Aug 19, 2017 1:02:47 GMT -5
I'll just sit and watch it get dark, and then light again. My eyes are already acting weird on me, and have been since I had some horrible medication after my shoulder surgery and they were telling me no more pain medication. The stuff they put me on after caused all sorts of issues, and I don't need to mess them up more by seeing another eclipse.
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Post by k9krap on Aug 19, 2017 1:28:06 GMT -5
I already have retina issues - Adult-onset Macular Degeneration or AMD. So far, my case is "dry", so my eyesight hasn't been affected yet. But, because I'm taking Plaquenil to deter Lupus flare-ups, I have to take a visual field test every 6 months. I was taking it when I was first diagnosed and quit immediately; I restarted it a couple years ago with great reluctance, as my eyesight is the one sense I would hate to lose. So my eyes aren't in great shape, either. Chronic dry-eye, AMD and horrible astigmatism. I'm already nearly blind without correction.
That said, I have NASA-approved glasses, but am still not sure if I'll be out there.
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renthal
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Post by renthal on Aug 19, 2017 8:53:40 GMT -5
Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun.
But mama, that's where the fun is...
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Post by minx on Aug 19, 2017 9:16:56 GMT -5
Well, I plan on being blinded by the light.. got my glasses and everything  |
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Post by bobathon on Aug 19, 2017 9:54:30 GMT -5
The issue is not that eclipses are magically more dangerous, as y'all probably know. It's that it's easier to stare at than the full sun, so apparently some people do. Don't stare at the sun. Repeat: www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/how-to-make-a-pinhole-camera/No, don't make multiple holes. But make the one hole as perfectly round as possible. |
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DA
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Post by DA on Aug 20, 2017 16:57:35 GMT -5
I'm not even sure if I'll be awake for it.
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Post by k9krap on Aug 20, 2017 19:08:15 GMT -5
I'm going to try. I'll set an alarm. Finally slept after 36 hours of wakefulness. It seems recently that my favorite pastime is eluding me. Unless I'm totally exhausted beyond cognition I can't sleep due to comfort issues - jumpy legs, painful knees and hips. Even went to my Restoril stash night before last with no results. (Only 3 pills left - yikes!) So it's a crapshoot if ill even sleep before the big event.
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Post by rally2xs on Aug 20, 2017 20:44:49 GMT -5
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DA
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Post by DA on Aug 20, 2017 22:30:49 GMT -5
I had thought about taking a road trip since it has been awhile since I've had one, but will do it another day when the world isn't ending.
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Post by k9krap on Aug 21, 2017 0:07:49 GMT -5
Yeah. Southbound traffic on I95 and route 301 have been extremely heavy - heavier than usual for the weekends. Many reported backups the pst couple days not attributed to accidents.
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Post by minx on Aug 21, 2017 8:38:47 GMT -5
Mr. Minx is in Knoxville, about 30 minutes away from the belt of totality. He was planning on driving to SC today to see it in it's full glory.
As many of you know, I had been decrying his plan as not very well thought out, as he was planning to driving to a flea market off the interstate that would be closed for the day and camping his butt out there.
Luckily for him, he decided to drive down and check out the area. Not only is it packed, but the cheapest parking he could find was $20, and they were planning on packing the cars in like sardines.
His new plan is to try and drive to Maryville, TN and park at Becky's college. We'll see how that works out. I told him to plan ahead, but did he listen???
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Post by bobathon on Aug 21, 2017 8:46:57 GMT -5
Best view is NASA TV.
I saw the full annular eclipse of 1984. Naval Observatory is big on celestial object stuff, so they set up telescopes and ran a feed onto tv monitors. It never got dark, more dusklike, and the weirdest thing was the tree shadows.
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Post by rally2xs on Aug 21, 2017 9:31:49 GMT -5
Mr. Minx is in Knoxville, about 30 minutes away from the belt of totality. He was planning on driving to SC today to see it in it's full glory. As many of you know, I had been decrying his plan as not very well thought out, as he was planning to driving to a flea market off the interstate that would be closed for the day and camping his butt out there. Luckily for him, he decided to drive down and check out the area. Not only is it packed, but the cheapest parking he could find was $20, and they were planning on packing the cars in like sardines. His new plan is to try and drive to Maryville, TN and park at Becky's college. We'll see how that works out. I told him to plan ahead, but did he listen??? Totality lasts for all of a couple minutes. One could pull off at the side of the road for that long, no need to find a parking lot. Find some country road... Plus there's lots of out of the way places - staging area for old road construction, oil / gas wells, parking for fishing spots by rivers, electrical substation driveways, etc. - all sorts of things that are flat, connected to the road, and unmonitored. No need to pay anyone, ask anyone anything, etc. Shopping center parking lots, the list is endless. TN is not NYC, its big and relatively bare. Shouldn't be a problem, really. |
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Post by minx on Aug 21, 2017 9:58:30 GMT -5
He's in it for the duration - no sense driving all that way to only see 2 minutes! Therefore, he needs to be near somewhere that has a bathroom. He can always pee on a tree, but if he needs to take a dump, it not as easy |
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DA
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Post by DA on Aug 22, 2017 17:09:11 GMT -5
He's in it for the duration - no sense driving all that way to only see 2 minutes! Therefore, he needs to be near somewhere that has a bathroom. He can always pee on a tree, but if he needs to take a dump, it not as easy That's why I always carry a coffee can or two with some kitty litter in my trunk. |
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Post by rally2xs on Aug 22, 2017 20:08:36 GMT -5
He's in it for the duration - no sense driving all that way to only see 2 minutes! Therefore, he needs to be near somewhere that has a bathroom. He can always pee on a tree, but if he needs to take a dump, it not as easy That's why I always carry a coffee can or two with some kitty litter in my trunk. Going up North of Superior to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for some canoeing, camping, and am going to catch all their fish next week. Now, that's the wilderness. The protocol on the American side is to use the toilets that the park service digs (blasts?) into the rock and constructs little outhouses upon except for the house part - they just are seats with a hole sticking up out of the ground, and you get to sit there and watch the rest of the woods. They're well away from the campsites to avoid embarrassment. Canadian side, you dig a hole and make a deposit, cover, mark with a pair of crossed sticks, no gov't constructed seats. Well, in the remote case that I need to do #2 somewhere away from the park service facility, and because I wanted to buy a bauble anyway, I've got this "First Blood" Sly Stallone knife from the original Rambo movie. I can wear that all over, the purpose is not obvious, and all I need to do is put some TP into some freezer bags and stick 'em in my back pockets and I'm all set to do whatever wherever. And I got a real nice knife out of the bargain too. That's 1 way to do it. Of course there's cheaper knives, too, but not as much fun, y'know. |
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pasta
Juvenile Delinquint
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Post by pasta on Aug 22, 2017 20:56:03 GMT -5
WTF is a "hole sticking up out of the ground"?
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Post by rally2xs on Aug 22, 2017 21:10:41 GMT -5
WTF is a "hole sticking up out of the ground"? Its a roughly cubic wood box, probably 30" or so on a side, with a big hole in it like an outhouse. Just mount it and do your thing. But there are no walls. |
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Post by minx on Aug 23, 2017 8:11:23 GMT -5
Well Mr. Minx found a new spot by a Shoney's a little further north, but still within totality. Said it was pretty awesome to see it in person. He's already making plans for the next one.
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Post by No. 1 son on Aug 23, 2017 9:44:20 GMT -5
Well Mr. Minx found a new spot by a Shoney's a little further north, but still within totality. Said it was pretty awesome to see it in person. He's already making plans for the next one. He might be texting a good game or might not. Look behind the shed and I'll bet you see his shoes sticking out. |
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Post by minx on Aug 23, 2017 11:44:44 GMT -5
Oh, you are amusing - he wouldn't hide behind no shed - he'd just squat in the open!
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Post by rally2xs on Aug 23, 2017 23:45:37 GMT -5
Well Mr. Minx found a new spot by a Shoney's a little further north, but still within totality. Said it was pretty awesome to see it in person. He's already making plans for the next one. Next one is targeted exactly on my original hometown of Fostoria, Ohio in 2024. Provided I'm still alive (I'll be 76 if so), I'll be there for that. Will be cool, never experienced a totality before. |
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Post by minx on Aug 24, 2017 8:26:24 GMT -5
Mr. Minx is already planning his trip - he said experiencing totality is well worth the trip
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DA
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Post by DA on Aug 25, 2017 23:47:20 GMT -5
I experience totality from my own home when I put my thumb up and cover the sun with it. I don't need to wait for the stupid science and their stupid alignment rules.
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renthal
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Post by renthal on Aug 26, 2017 13:11:34 GMT -5
I spent the 70s, most of the 80s experiencing totality.
Had to quit because of random urine testing...
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