The surgery is tomorrow. I have to admit, I haven't mastered my anxiety, but I suppose I've masked it well enough. By way of mitigating my worry, I've joked about the procedure quite a bit, and I've come up with a visual that, if nothing else, lets me laugh. Picture a dark, musty dungeon, iron maiden hanging from the overhead beam, manacles on the wall and straw on the floor. I've been strapped to an ancient gurney, painted white with peeling patches on the railing. A hunch-back gnome pushes me through the creaking oak door into the room, as Vincent Price's maniacal laughter peals in the background. And the screaming starts...
Yep, a grade-b 60's horror flick. All that's missing is the slightly bent, rusty needle they'll stick in my eye to get me to talk... Oh... There it is...
Seriously, the surgery is no big deal. The prep takes longer (1 1/2 hours for the anesthesia to take effect), vs 15 minutes for remove the cataract and replace the lens. Recovery is mostly for the sedative to wear off. I'll have to wear a protective eye shield for a week or so at night, so that I don't poke or scratch my eye, but... I should be seeing 20/20 by this time tomorrow out of my left eye. Wish me luck...
On to D'oril stuff. While sipping coffee this morning, I was watching a history channel piece on early navigation, from the viking times until Prince Henry of Portugal in the 15th century. I learned quite a bit about the earliest forms of navigation, especially with the invention of the astrolabe (a method of determining your latitude), and the problems of determining longitude. This tied in quite well with the issues that I've roughly shaped regarding the great ocean between Tallux and the Confederacy.
In order to restrict the ability of the Empire of Tallux, a China-sized imperial expansionistic force, I'd made the ocean between the two continents very difficult to navigate across most of it's breadth. Only in the far north, where the two continents are close, is the limited navigation systems of the empire able to cross the ocean with any degree of success, and that is restricted by the harsh weather and dangerous, rocky waters. Thus, the empires early efforts at conquest outside their own continent lay in the north, trying to secure ports along the rugged northern coast of D"oril Sadly (for them), there are few harbors usable, and none of them year round. This was one of their biggest problems during the time of Sha'te Valley.
The empire has also had some limited success with a bering sea type land bridge in the far north, but again, bad weather made this route extremely tenous in the best of times. Tallux desperatly needed a warm weather port, all of which are securely (of sorts) tied up by the confederacy, or the sea-raiders within the many rugged islands along the coast.
I've envisioned the empire's naval technology similar to 15th century portugal. Thus, they are mostly limited to following coasts, with short, "latitude drives" directly across short stretches of open ocean limited to a couple of weeks at the most. The confederacy, on the other hand, has an advantage that they don't even understand, a secret kept by a few of the wealthiest merchant princes of the western coast, a way to navigate across a few of the vast expanses of the ocean, at least for a few legacy flagships. But that's a tale for another post...
Clear skies, and tomorrow, hopefully, Clear vision...
Jim
Yep, a grade-b 60's horror flick. All that's missing is the slightly bent, rusty needle they'll stick in my eye to get me to talk... Oh... There it is...
Seriously, the surgery is no big deal. The prep takes longer (1 1/2 hours for the anesthesia to take effect), vs 15 minutes for remove the cataract and replace the lens. Recovery is mostly for the sedative to wear off. I'll have to wear a protective eye shield for a week or so at night, so that I don't poke or scratch my eye, but... I should be seeing 20/20 by this time tomorrow out of my left eye. Wish me luck...
On to D'oril stuff. While sipping coffee this morning, I was watching a history channel piece on early navigation, from the viking times until Prince Henry of Portugal in the 15th century. I learned quite a bit about the earliest forms of navigation, especially with the invention of the astrolabe (a method of determining your latitude), and the problems of determining longitude. This tied in quite well with the issues that I've roughly shaped regarding the great ocean between Tallux and the Confederacy.
In order to restrict the ability of the Empire of Tallux, a China-sized imperial expansionistic force, I'd made the ocean between the two continents very difficult to navigate across most of it's breadth. Only in the far north, where the two continents are close, is the limited navigation systems of the empire able to cross the ocean with any degree of success, and that is restricted by the harsh weather and dangerous, rocky waters. Thus, the empires early efforts at conquest outside their own continent lay in the north, trying to secure ports along the rugged northern coast of D"oril Sadly (for them), there are few harbors usable, and none of them year round. This was one of their biggest problems during the time of Sha'te Valley.
The empire has also had some limited success with a bering sea type land bridge in the far north, but again, bad weather made this route extremely tenous in the best of times. Tallux desperatly needed a warm weather port, all of which are securely (of sorts) tied up by the confederacy, or the sea-raiders within the many rugged islands along the coast.
I've envisioned the empire's naval technology similar to 15th century portugal. Thus, they are mostly limited to following coasts, with short, "latitude drives" directly across short stretches of open ocean limited to a couple of weeks at the most. The confederacy, on the other hand, has an advantage that they don't even understand, a secret kept by a few of the wealthiest merchant princes of the western coast, a way to navigate across a few of the vast expanses of the ocean, at least for a few legacy flagships. But that's a tale for another post...
Clear skies, and tomorrow, hopefully, Clear vision...
Jim
1 comment:
I'll be thinking of you and your improved vision tomorrow. Good luck!
Post a Comment