Marc Perkel Rantz

Two Years since Laser Eye Vision Correction

A little over two years ago I had my eyes lasered and it really made a difference. I was 5.5 diopters nearsighted - which means that if I didn't know where my glasses were - I had a hard time finding them. So - being nearly blind without glasses I decided to get my eyes fixed.

The first thing was to decided where so I left a message on Craigslist and several people recommended Dr. Ella Faktorovich at Pacific Vision Institute. I went over there for a consultation and she was brilliant. I had a lot of reservations about it and beening a geek - I wanted to know every detail of how it worked. Since this was in San Francisco - I wanted to know what would happen if there was an earthquake during the procedure - and she had an answer for that too - the laser would instantly shut off if there was a tracking error.

Since I was 47 at the time I was already having vision problems focusing a different distances. If not for the fact that I was already nearsighted - I would have needed reading glasses. As you get older you lose the range of vision that you would have if you were younger. And - I learned that if I had both eyes corrected to distance vision that I would lose my superior near vision and would have to put glasses on to read.

She suggested an interesting solution though. What she suggested was to leave one eye slghtly nearsighted so that I would have a "driving eye" and a "reading eye". Some people's brains can handle it - some can't. But - she wanted to try it since I was a tech and my near vision was something that was important to me.

She sent me to another eye doctor that does contact lenses and had me fitted to contacts that simulated the way my eyes would be corrected. The split vision would out very well - so well in fact that instead if a 1.5 diopter split I asked for two diopters.

I had the actual procedure done on my 47th birthday. I was given some valium to get me all doped up to where I didn't care about anything. She also put a numbing agent and antibiotic drops in my eyes. The numbing agent was a little stinggy at first but that passed after a few seconds. 30 minutes later I was taken to the room where the procedure was to take place.

Getting your eyes lasered is an interesting process. Perhaps most people would be more comfortable not knowing exactly what they do - but not me. Basically they slice off the front of your eye - peal it back - and then they laser off the flay surface to reshape the eye the way it needs to be. The front flap is then replaced and grows back together. The entire provedure takes abut 10 minutes for both eyes.

As a patient it was very easy. It's more comfortable than getting your teeth cleaned. But teeth cleaning is something I understand. I laid down on my back on the table under the device. I remember Ella was looking through what appeared to be a microscpoe into my eyes. My eyelids were taped open - but there was drops being applied to keep my eyes moist. I had the sensation that I could blink - but actually couldn't. That was something I had been worried about - not being able to blink - but not a problem.

What I say was a ring of white lights (white LEDs) and a green dot on the middle. My job was to heep focused on the green dot. lla explained every step of the procedure as she was doing it. She said that the green dot was going to disappear and that I might feel a little pressure. This is where the instrument came in contact with my eye and made the cut to separate the front of my eye. She then folded it back exposing the surface. Of course - if you don't know what's happening - all you feel is a little pressure. You never feel anything being cut.

With the eye now having a flat surface the green dot looked like it was as big as a dime. I heard the machine making a pulsing noise as the laser shaved off tiny layers of tissue. You can't see the laser that actually does the cutting - but I did notice a secind red traching laser that it used to guide the cutting laser. The tracking system keeps the laser on target even if you move your eye during the procedure. That only lasted mayv=be 30 seconds. Then the flap was replaced and the green dot was again a green dot.

The procedure was repeated for the other eye. It was all very comfortable - especially with the valium which makes everything ok. Aren't drugs wonderful. After 10 minutes the procedure was over.

I got up and although I was supposed to keep my eyes closed for the most part - I took a peek - and my vision was mostly clear. Sort of like looking through the windshield during rain though. I was taken t a room where I laid down to way for a friend to give me a ride home. I fell asleep while waiting.

30 minutes later my ride came. I was led to the car but I did take some small peeks to see my way in. You're supposed to keep your eyes shut for 4 hours after the procedure. They recommend a nap. And the Valium helps with that. I went home to bed. About 4 hours later - I woke up.

I could already see the difference. I had to put a lot of drops in my eyes. I used antibiotic drops, antiinflamatories - and general drops to keep my eyes moist. So - every hour it was eyedrops. Even worked on the computer and experimented with getting used to having the near eye and the far eye. Then I went to bed early.

The next morning I woke up and I could see all the way across the street without glasses. There was a flag in the window on the other side of the street and I could not only see the stars - but the points on the stars. It was amazing.

As someone who has warn glasses all my life and not had contacts the idea of not having glasses on was very disturbing. Especially getting in my car and driving. I had a pair of sunglasses that came with the procedure and putting those on made my face feel normal again. I'm someone who actually likes to have glasses on and not having them on was almost like being outside naked. But in time I got used to it.

Most people can't handle a 2 diopter split though. I'm rather unusual. I think the difference is that I understand the technology and I don't try to make both eyes see normal. I understand that things aren't always going to appear perfect under all circumstances. I also think that my right eye is a little "lazy" and that because my left eye is so dominant that everything looks clear at a distace. Looking at things near take a little more effort - but I can read without glasses when others my age can't.

When I drive I have driving glasses. They correct my right eye back to normal and provide some shading in the sun. I also wear the hiking. I also have some 1.25 diopter reading glasses from wallgreens ($15 for 2 pair) and some 3 diopter glasses for close work. I also had some custom glasses made for computer distance. So - I'm not glasses free. But at my age that's is to be expected.

It's been a big improvement. I can go swimming and check out the women. I don't have glasses falling off or getting steamed up and not blind without them. I can see very well without being so nearsighted. There is a downside in that I have lost my super close vision - but I can put glasses on to get that back.

So - if you are in the Bay Area - or if you aren't it'sworth flying here to have it done - Dr. Factorivich is the best. She's considered a leader in her field and a lot of celebrities go to her to get their eyes done. She's not cheap - $3500 - $5000 - but at the time I had the money and decided I wanted the best. And - I'm happy the way it turned out. I got the extra attention I needed to calculated the best diopter split for me.

Besides - Dr. Faktorovich is a babe. I told her the most painful part of the procedure was finding out she was already married. But - she is just the best in every way from doing it right to assuring you that you won't be blind after it's all over.

Perkel to be Interviewed on Air America Radio

Good news on the radio interviews front. Mike Malloy of Air America Radio has agreed to interview me on Wednesday December 29th at 11:00pm East coast time (8:00 pacific time) about the Church of Reality. I will be on for 30 minutes (15 minutes less commercials) and will be reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners.

You all can tune in to Air America Radio at http://www.airamericaradio.com and listen to it live on the Internet.

I'm hoping that once I'm on this that others pick me up too. These things sometimes snowball. I'm generally very good in interviews - especially on radio where looks don't matter and I can be home in my PJs ranting to the world. And I will get to talk about reality and get people asking the sacred question.

Marc Perkel
First One
Church of Reality

Muslims stone children to death

Letter to the Editor

The Muslim religion claims to be a peaceful religion and it strives for acceptance in the world community. However today the Muslim dominated government in Iran will execute a 19 year old girl for sex crimes as a result of her being forced into prostitution by her mother. They are going to execute this girl by stoning her to death.

Stoning children to death is an act of a society of barbarians. There is not redeeming virtues at all to a society that stones children to death. This act tarnishes the relationship of all Muslims in the world who stand silent and allow this sort of thing to occur. Muslims can talk about what they supposedly believe but what you believe is what you do and when you kill children by stoning then that's in part what being a Muslim is all about. And it's sick!

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It's interesting to note that Muslims are already trying justify this in term of "Christians do it too" or that it discourages other parents from prostituting their children. If Christians did it too they would be just as bad. And - the idea of killing children to teach their parents a lesson is also totally sick. First - wouldn't it be more of a lesson to stone the parents who forced the girl into prostitution in the first place?

Societies who stone people to death are primitive barbaric cultures and their barbarism comes from their religion. That is what is referenced as to why they are stoning people. Stoning is WRONG - period. There is no reason that justifies it - never never never - under any conditions.

Here's the Link to the Story

Church of Reality - about to launch!

San Francisco, CA - Marc Perkel today announces the official launch of the Church of Reality starting with a radio campaign on KFRC Radio in the Bay Area. Perkel is spending $7500 for a three week radio campaign to raise money to spread the word about his new church. Perkel hopes to challenge other religions on what is real and what is moral and raise the status of reality in society.

Church of Reality Web Site

Contact
Marc Perkel
First One
Church of Reality
marc@perkel.com
"If it's real - we believe in it!"

Here's the seven sacred missions:

# We believe in Reality - the way it really is! - If it's real - we believe in it. The Church of Reality is a Personal Commitment to the Truth. We Realists explore the universe together with our minds. We think about thinking. We wonder about wondering. We attempt to understand the Understanding of Understanding. We ponder the Great Questions. We are a curious people and we are bound together in our quest to know more.

# We Spread the Sacred Message - Reality - Our mission is to promote reality in society. Every time we mention Reality we spread the Sacred Message. We are here to ask the Sacred Question - "What is Real?" in order to raise the status of Reality in society. We want people to consider reality when making important decisions. By spreading the Sacred Message we cause people to be Real in the Sacred Moment (which is Now). Our mission is to say "Reality" as many times as we can and to get other people to think about reality as often as we can. We introduce the Terminology of Reality into the Tree of Knowledge so that we have a common vocabulary to talk about reality in religious terms.

# We Choose the Sacred Direction - Forward - The Sacred Direction is forward - onward and upward. Our Principle of Positive Evolution commits us to envision a future that is better than today. We are one planet and we are all in this together on our little ball in the universe. In order to answer the Sacred Question and explore our reality society must move forward. We take responsibility for our future and we commit to making tomorrow better than today.

# We Honor the Tree of Knowledge - The Tree of Knowledge represents the sum total of all human understanding. It is what separates us from the animals. The Tree of Knowledge represents the soul of humanity. We are better than we were hundreds of years ago because our Tree of Knowledge has grown and if we continue to evolve in the Sacred Direction our Tree of Knowledge will continue to grow. It is through the tree that we explore reality as it really is and attempt to answer the Sacred Question - What is Real?

# We Ask the Sacred Moral Question - What is Good? - The Sacred Moral Question is, "Is this a Good Thing?" What does "good" mean? That too is part of the Sacred Moral Question. We believe in the principle of positive evolution and the sacred direction as well as the other Sacred Principles as a foundation for determining right and wrong. We believe that right and wrong are important concepts that deserve to be carefully considered in realistic terms. Often reality is ignored and no one asks if the decisions that are being made are a good thing.

We believe that when reality is ignored and no one asks if the decision is good that we end up with bad results. We as Realists are dedicated to Asking the Sacred Moral Question so that we make better choices so we can move in the sacred Direction. The commitment to Reality is a commitment to truth, honesty, wisdom, and responsibility. The Church of Reality is committed to getting the moral questions right.

# We Issue the Sacred Challenge - The Sacred Challenge is a challenge to other faiths and religions to ask themselves - "How do we know that what we believe is real?" The Sacred Challenge applies first and foremost to this church itself. Our Principle of Self Scrutiny demands that we constantly audit ourselves to make sure we are not deluding ourselves. We consider Reality to be a sacred thing and there are many other who claim their beliefs to be real when it just isn't. Many people want to be good moral people and are trying to "do what is right" but what they think is right has never been put to the reality test. Our message to people of other faiths is - question everything - challenging your beliefs is a good thing. We ask you to fully understand what exactly you do believe. We therefore ask other faiths to adopt the Principle of Self Scrutiny, to ask the Sacred Question, and to encourage your members to challenge your beliefs on the basis of if it is actually real. We require our members to scrutinize us. We challenge you to match us.

# We make it Happen - We are a religion that is an activist religion. We don't just find problems - we solve problems. We are committed to coming up with solutions and to take responsibility to bring the concept into reality. We make sure that the job is done right. We are a community and we do the work to make community work. We go out and learn and we try to understand and we spend a lot of time thinking and we give of ourselves for the common good of all people. In the Spirit of the Tree - our shared knowledge - we support sharing. It is our duty to look around and figure out how to make it all work.