Links: attn children, exhibitionists and shortsighted

[jack]

I read the paper at the weekend. A few things jumped out.

1. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1525134,00.html

Highscope was an experiment supposedly establishing that if you give small kids lots of help and support they're more likely to grow up... ok. Sure start is a new governemt program doing stuff for kids. Well, it's a good approach.

2. http://www.balticprojects.org/tunick/

It's funny how a few naked people are weird, but *lots* of naked people are art. Woo exhibitionism! :)

3. http://glassesdirect.co.uk

Some entrepreneur with bad eyesight noticed that (1) the price of glasses was inflated way over what they cost to make and (2) you can go to opticians #1, get an eeye test, take the prescription, and buy glasses from optician #2. So he cut out the middle men, and is selling online from £15+ for complete glasses.

I haven't looked for testimonials yet, but I was going to investigate for my next pair.

Of course, I don't know how much *eye tests* cost. If they're subsidised by glasses sales this company isn't going to be stable, but it might be good for now.

Comments

[numberland.livejournal.com]

No more than about £15 I think, however you do have the problem that different peoples heads have different shapes... From memory it's optician #2 that takes all the measurements etc...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It'd rely on the site having decent frames with good measurements of them.

I think £15 was the cheapest, but you paid more for rimless, etc.

[numberland.livejournal.com]

I meant the cost of eye tests, not glasses!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Doh! Of course. Sorry.

PS. Nice to see you sat night.

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

Glasses Direct has been around for a year or so at least, I remember having a look there. I didn't get anything from them because they didn't do transistion lenses at the time and I love only needing one pair of glasses, and I thought all the frames were ugly. It looks like they've got a bigger range now, I might get myself a spare pair of glasses.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd vaguely heard of it. I think there are even competitors now. Of course, as said in feanelwa journal, it's worth paying for the glasses you want if you can because you'll be wearing them near-constantly for years, but if glassesdirect *can* do it, it'd be good.

PS. I found a different friend fitting his description who might have applied to ash's company, so don't worry, you don't have a clone :)

[aldabra]

SureStart is very impressive; it must have boggling amounts of money thrown at it, going by the beautiful new nursery they built us in Bristol. And quite right too.

Expose in a recent Grauniad, though, suggests it's being devolved to local authorities without the money being ringfenced, so it may have expired by the time we can investigate the kids who went to it for improved outcomes.

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

I'm very tempted by one of the pairs of glasses on there, but I don't have my prescription to hand. Know how receptive opticians are to long-term[1] customers walking in and demanding their measurements?

[1] since at least sixth form I think

[uqx.livejournal.com]

I suspect that they are obliged to tell you under Data Protection Act ;-)
Though technically they could charge you a fee if they claim it requires work to tell you.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

No, but you've nothing to lose by trying. They seem to hand out *new* prescription transcriptions like candy, so they shouldn't logically have a problem...