Yes, A guy who actually has DONE it is probably far less informed than random people on the internet quoting numbers.

PS. Ever own a house? Sure, my double-pane windows rock ... the casings, on the other hand, leak like a sieve.

That's significantly lower than the 100% misdiagnose rate I was thinking of ...

There's no profit to the pharma companies in kids just being kids. When was it that we decided a significant percentage of all children suddenly had a mental disorder?

I don't have to wear a pair of headphones in the theater to listen to the movie.

I'd mod you up if I had points.

The iPhone does everything I need it to do (and more), and does those things well. Hell, I just got around to upgrading from the first gen to the new one, and only because of a couple key features (streaming music over bluetooth and a better camera). If it didn't do what I wanted, I wouldn't buy one. If I bought one and didn't like it ... I'd return it.

It astounds me the energy people put into disparaging a device they don't own and (supposedly) don't want.

I meant "non-essential" in the context of the consumer/home market. No one *needs* an iPad - they aren't going to die if they don't have one and there are other devices that are capable of performing the same tasks (without commenting on interface/usability/etc).

This is not to say they aren't useful, or actually very cool. I actually believe both are true and will probably pick one up at some point ... I just haven't rationalized it to myself yet ;)

And in your case, it fills a very nice niche perfectly (I recently did a contract gig at McKesson working on their Horizon Expert Orders system, so I know exactly how perfect the iPad is for that application)

You seem to mis-understand, When I say "non-essential" I meant in the broadest of terms and in the context of the consumer market. It isn't a judgment, just an opinion, I guess.

I've seriously considered buying one because I think they're very cool little devices. It's firmly in the "non-essential" category for me as well, but that doesn't mean I won't buy one at some point (Though I have sworn off buying techno gadgets for the most part).

My problem is buying motorcycles. I need a 12 step program for finicky, expensive Italian ones; I own 3 Ducatis at the moment. It's no better or worse than the techno gadget thing, really ... but everyone knows people who buy Ducatis are elitist snobs ;)

News at 11.

Seriously ... it's a fairly pricey, non-essential gadget. The demographic they are describing is exactly the one that can afford such a thing and not think twice about it. They also buy many other non-essential shiny things.

You could say the same thing about Mercedes automobiles.

Says the AC to the guy with a 5 digit ID ...

A number of the really, really bright people with whom I've been privileged to work who actually did go to college will be the first to tell you they really didn't learn anything they didn't already know or wouldn't have learned on their own, but went so they'd have the piece of paper.

Some people actually do need to go to college in order to learn things, and that's fine.

Also, In a down economy that piece of paper is a handy thing to have if you don't have experience and can't get by the HR drones otherwise.

No, No, and No.

I hope Steam is not working with Wine in any way, shape or form.

I do hope they are working on Native ports of games like with OSX.

Believe it or not, most people are fairly law abiding and follow directions.

Geeks, somewhat by nature, seem to be ok with "gaming" the system (and I'm not excluding myself).

It's even more vicious than that, however.

Healthcare costs are jacked through the roof, in part, because the healthcare industry knows the insurance industry will pay for it. They effectively charge the most the insurance company will pay. No insurance? Unless you're dealing with a doctor/practice with some part of their soul left intact, you pretty much can't afford it.

My dentist, for example, offers a "cash discount". Translation: We can't hammer an insurance company so we'll just charge you what it should cost in the first place.

As far as I can tell, there's really only two classes of people in this country that think we have good healthcare - the rich, and the people who have never had to use it outside of a routine office visit (For which they are paying X thousand dollars per year in premiums, in addition to their copay). Oh, and Faux News.

Any legitimate online retailer (1800contacts, etc) requires a prescription, they won't break the law.

Now, considering you can fax them the prescription rather than providing them with your optometrist's contact info, a little work with a scanner and a graphics package would prob do the trick ... but it's still not legal.

When I was running my own business and paying out of pocket I did exactly that, carried a $5k/year deductible.

My point, however, was that we're rapidly trending toward that as the norm even with group plans as our healthcare costs spiral out of control.

When you're billed $15k to fix a compound fracture and your insurance is 80/20 up to $X ... you're right there. I believe the watered down "reform" even guarantees that, putting yearly out-of-pocket maxes right around that level in the "basic" package which sadly, most Americans will not be able to cover in the case of having a significant health problem / accident.

The new job I'm starting actually has good insurance at $125/mo for both of us. But that's somewhat of a rarity these days.

Exactly.

People don't go to the optometrist because they don't want to see better or think they don't need it, they don't go because without insurance they can't afford it.

Even while being in the class in the US that can afford insurance, the difference in what it costs and what it covers compared to 15 years ago is really quite staggering.

15 years ago I paid something like $20 a month (for just myself) and had almost no out of pocket expenses. I have a plate and 5 screws holding my radius together, and it cost me like $100.

Now? My wife and I pay close to $300 (pre-tax) but even a minor usage outside of the basic doctor-visit co-pay would end up being at least a grand out of our pocket - and that's considered "good" coverage these days. Break an arm? Yeah, that's going to cost you. Even people who *have* insurance struggle to pay their medical bills these days.

The classification as "medical devices" by the FDA is what attaches the requirement of a prescription.

A quick google brought this up: http://medgadget.com/archives/2005/08/contact_lenses_1.html

So ... since 2005 this has been the case for contacts.