Eye Doctors Are Practically Begging You To Never, Ever Do These 9 Things

Susanne Rust | Los Angeles Times (TNS) Despite the planet’s growing plastic pollution crisis, petroleum-based polymers have become an integral part of modern life. They make cars and airplanes lighter and more energy efficient. They constitute a core material of modern medicine by helping to keep equipment sterile, deliver medicines and build prosthetics, among many other things.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live near a university, and graduate students are always looking for odd jobs to make extra money. One of them does my laundry twice a week, and always returns it beautifully folded. This week there was a surprise: a clean pair of red underwear with a reinforced, O-shaped opening in the crotch. It was quite well-made, and could represent a bit of an investment on a student budget. I’m no prude, and celebrate whatever sexuality may be expressed by this particular garment.

Corinne Purtill | Los Angeles Times (TNS) LOS ANGELES — Thomas VanCott compares his son Jake’s experience with autism to life on a tightrope. Upset the delicate balance and Jake, 18, plunges into frustration, slapping himself and twisting his neck in seemingly painful ways. Like many families with children on the autism spectrum, Jake’s parents sought treatments beyond traditional speech and behavioral therapies. One that seemed promising was magnetic e-resonance therapy, or MERT, a magnetic brain stimulation therapy trademarked in 2016 by a Newport Beach-based company called Wave Neuroscience. The company licensed MERT to private clinics across the country that offered it as a therapy for conditions including depression, PTSD and autism. Those clinics described MERT as a noninvasive innovation that could improve an autistic child’s sleep, social skills and — most attractive to the VanCott family — speech.

Dear Eric: I’m in my mid-60s and did not grow up using social media. Honestly, I find it silly to think anyone would care about my daily activities and dining options. Thus, I stay off all of the platforms. Most of my friends are on the primary social media platforms such as Facebook and X. I have hosted exclusive, invite-only parties at my house.

By Christine Spolar | KFF Health News PITTSBURGH — A false alarm that a gunman was roaming one Catholic high school and then another in March 2023 touched off frightening evacuations and a robust police response in the city. It also prompted the diocese to rethink what constitutes a model learning environment. Months after hundreds of students were met by SWAT teams, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh began forming its own armed police force. Wendell Hissrich, a former safety director for the city and career FBI unit chief, was hired that year to form a department to safeguard 39 Catholic schools as well as dozens of churches in the region.

MIAMI – Jimmy Butler will show up on Miami Heat media day on Sept. 30 at Kaseya Center as: A. Beetlejuice. B. Emo Jimmy 2.0 (a 2023 repeat). C. Dreadlock Jimmy 2.0 (a 2022 reprise). D. As himself, no adornment, sans stylist (seemingly a longshot, considering how Butler knows his media-day photo becomes the one required to be utilized on NBA promotional material the balance of the season). In the big picture, first impressions certainly can be overstated.