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39DollarGlasses.com

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 13:03:25 CDT

(Reprint from Notes from an Eclectic Mind, February 26, 2007)

My earlier post describing my successful negotiation of lower-priced eyewear was on a whole positive, but I did concede that going back to a lined bifocal, while cheaper, was not ideal for computer work.

After about a week of getting a crick in my neck looking for the sweet spot on my lenses (and never finding it), I decided to order a pair of reading glasses from 39dollarglasses.com. I came in well under budget at the optical shop so this was an affordable option and frankly, I was curious to explore getting prescription eyeglasses online.

There's also the jealousy factor. All of us with astigmatism have it. The rest of you complain that you need reading glasses but we're envious as hell that you can just stroll in and buy over-the-counter specs, often in fun colors and funky frames.

There should be a manifesto, a right carved in stone that those of us who go through life putting our glasses on first thing in the morning and taking them off the last thing at night should be able to have fun too.

(All of you who have had Lasik and love it, I salute you, but I am one of those odd ducks that actually enjoys wearing glasses.)

I placed my order with 39DollarGlasses on Feb. 21 at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The process was simple and straightforward. I had no difficulty entering my prescription and the ordering process worked flawlessly.

The next morning at 6:45 a.m. I received an email informing me that my glasses were in production and that I would be notified when they shipped.

As much to check the process as anything else, I logged in to my account at the 39DollarGlasses website and the same information appeared there. Notification and up-to-date account information. Gold stars so far for communication.

At 1:30 p.m. on the 23rd, the shipment notification arrived in my email. (I optimistically popped for DHL overnight. Don't go there. The service offered doesn't include weekend delivery.)

Today at around 2:30 the DHL van pulled up in the drive with my glasses. The package was a standard cardboard mailer, which contained a black hardshell eyeglass case and an invoice.

Inside the case the glasses were packaged in a black drawstring bag -- I assume to further protect the lenses during shipping.

In a word, the glasses are perfect. I made one adjustment to the right temple because that ear is higher. I don't fault 39DollarGlasses for that since it's a change that's been made to every pair of frames I've ever worn.

If these were "every day" glasses, I would have gone to an optical shop and had the temples brought in a little but for reading glasses the fit is spot on.

I selected a plastic frame without separate nose pieces because I find it a "softer" feel for this kind of use. I think most eyeglasses wearers will agree such a frame is always a looser fit than a metal frame.

The quality of the frame is absolutely on par (and perhaps even a bit better) than the one from the chi chi optical store and the lenses are crystalline clear without a sign of imperfection.

In fact, I'm wearing my new glasses as I type up this review and the computer screen has never looked better. I am thoroughly satisfied with my purchase and intend to have a pair of sunglasses made before the intense glare of our Texas summers.

So, my final conclusion is an unqualified thumbs up for 39DollarGlasses:

- A good selection of frames.
- No hidden costs. (The frames with lenses and coatings were indeed $39 and had I gone with Priority Mail, which I will do next time, shipping would have been about $6.)
- A clear and efficient system of ordering.
- Speedy service.
- An excellent product made to specifications.

If you're on a tight budget or looking to pick up reading glasses, a spare pair of specs, or a set of sunglasses at a good price, I heartily recommend these folks. Job well done. (For more reviews of this and other online eyeglass providers, see Ira Mitchell's excellent site, Glassy Eyes.)

(For those who are interested, this is the frame I ordered in the tortoise.)

10% Off Any Purchase at 39DollarGlasses!
(discount applied at checkout)
Affiliate link.

Reviews / Experiences

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:54:25 CDT

We learn by sharing our experiences with products and services. Talk about yours here.

Resources / Links

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:52:15 CDT

As the name implies, a section to share links and resources.

Documentation (Getting Started)

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:51:12 CDT

Primary information on applying for membership and getting started here at the Infinite Notebook Community.

Paranormal

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:49:49 CDT

With the establishment of Paranormal Direct in late 2006, I'm finally indulging in a public way in my life-long interest in the paranormal. This section contains information and discussions relevant to that topic.

Environmental

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:47:46 CDT

One of my growing areas of interest involves measures we can all take in our daily lives to help with badly needed environmental reform in our country and in the world. This section holds material relevant to those concerns.

Animals and Paranormal Activity

Ranablog — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 11:58:52 CDT

What are your thoughts on Animals and paranormal activity? Can pets see spirits or ghosts?

Earlier this week my pug Brunson stared at something (nothing I could see) and barked and uncurled his tail. He acted generally unsettled, and I got an erie feeling. This has happened twice since then. Thoughts?

[Rana] I've seen some fairly compelling evidence to suggest this is possible. Back in the Little Town the people who live next to Mother have a home that had been owned by an eccentric and cranky elderly couple. When the new owners began to renovate the home, strange things started to happen. For instance, Earl was repeatedly locked out of the front door no matter what he did to make it impossible for that door to lock.

Jean, the wife in the equation, has that recurring polio syndrome, and has an assistance dog. The animal at the time, Copper, was scary smart. He used to sit in the front hall looking up at nothing -- a nothing about the exact height of the old man who used to live there -- and wag his tail and "talk."

[Shanna] Yesterday, my husbad and I decided to leave the video camera setup just to document what Brunson does when we're gone. We could only get the first hour, but the results were surprising. About 25 minutes in, a piece of mail from NetFlix flys off the DVD player and hits him! He put his tail down, and 35 minutes in, starts howling a sad, low howl. He also looks around the room and acts generally uncomfortable. As soon as I find my DV cord, I'll upload it to YouTube and link it. Hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

[Rana] Okay, just to confirm, the piece of mail flies off of its own accord? Brunson didn't bump the DVD player? No breeze or draft? It just independently moves? If so, you may have something really significant there. I'm dying to see it.

[Shanna] I'll get it uploaded ASAP. He was laying in the floor. The AC was off since we were going to be gone for a couple of hours (trying to save on the power :-D). It just flies off! Crazy.

[Shanna] I am uploading the videos to google now. The shorter one just shows him lying there and the paper flying off.

The second one is the money shot- luckily, my husband forgot to turn off the air. 18 minutes into the 2nd one, you can hear the sound of the AC clicking on, so we can discount that theory if there was a doubt! Also, I need to rewatch it to catch the time, but their is a weird noise.. kind of lke a "ooooohhhhh" and he looks around the room. I didn't hear it when we watched it on the TV. It's after he lies down on the floor. LOL, he's such a bad pug. He jumps on the kitchen table almost as soon as we leave. I'll post the links as they are done.

[Rana] I really am looking forward to seeing your video and the fact that you can verify that the air conditioner was off is excellent.

Links to Wikis of Interest

Ranablog — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:37:33 CDT

Killing the Kilowatt

Ranablog — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:28:43 CDT

Related Articles:
- Living with Ed

(Originally posted on Eclectic Mind on March 9, 2007)

Two years ago I declared war on the kilowatt. It started as an effort to cut household expenses, but as I've learned more about how energy is generated in Texas, the nature of our emissions problems (the North Texas Metroplex has received an "F" from the American Lung Association six years in a row), and how backward my beloved oil state truly is when it comes to alternative energy generation, the War of the Kilowatt became a personal cause.

Yesterday I sat down and worked with the data I've been collecting and assessed my progress:
- 2005, total kwh: 23,113
- 2006, total kwh: 20,817

The numbers tell me that I've managed to lower our usage roughly 10% and I'm still plugging away. (Or unplugging away as the case may be.) Last month we had our lowest one-month consumption ever, 719 kwh.

Now, let me say that if I did not live with an elderly housemate who is extremely sensitive to temperature levels, I know these numbers would be better. I like a colder house in the winter and as long as I have a fan going, I'd be happy with a thermostat set higher in the summer. R.'s personal thermometer is all over the place on any given day and it isn't unusual for her to declare that she's freezing to death when it's 104 degrees outside or burning up when it's 72.

So, what did this overall kwh reduction get us beyond the environmental aspect of the effort? A savings of $724.41 at the current rate of 0.3155076 cents per kwh.
And, what did I do to start using less energy?

1. Changed every bulb in the house to compact fluorescent. They use 2/3 less energy, last ten times longer, and generate 70% less heat. (For more information see this page on www.energystar.gov.)

2. Began to use the stove less in favor of more energy efficient methods of cooking. (When it's on, the average kitchen stove actually pulls more electricity than the air conditioner!) I use the microwave, a George Foreman Grill, a rice steamer (which is great for all kinds of things including the best corn on the cob you've ever eaten), and a Crock-Pot.

3. Adopted the 15 minute rule. If you're going to be back in the room within 15 minutes, leave the light on. It's more energy efficient than turning the light off and back on. If you're not in the room, turn the light off. (This has been a real challenge around here since R. has this thing about "a dark house.") I don't even turn the light on in my room when I come in to use the bathroom in the evenings. I charge a solar light by the patio door during the day and it gives me enough light in here to come in and out of the room. I only switch the lamp on when I settle down to work.

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Verdict Is: Turn the Lights Off (March 12, 2007)

MythBusters (season 4) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Through numerous tests, the MythBusters calculated that the power surge from turning on a light would only consume as much power as leaving it on for a fraction of a second (except for fluorescent tube lights; the startup consumed about 23 seconds worth of power). Furthermore, the wear and tear of turning the light on and off repeatedly did not reduce the bulb's total life expectancy enough to offset the increased electricity usage. Therefore, it is far more economical to turn a light off rather than leaving it on." For a more extensive explanation of the methods used in the experiment see Annotated Mythbusters Episode 69.

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4. Use fans in the summer. The first year I really screwed up on this one. In my head it was wasting electricity to run the air conditioner and the fans until I did some research and realized the fans actually help the air conditioner to work less and the combination saves more energy in the long run.

5. Tinted the windows that get the most afternoon sun. This was a huge help in keeping the house cooler in the afternoons and helping the air conditioner to cool more efficiently. The windows in the dining room and R.'s room were acting like an oven. I bought do-it-yourself window film at Home Depot and did the job in an afternoon. (I didn't tint the patio doors because the cats love to sun there and they do get a vote around here.)

6. Unplug gadget chargers. This is a real insidious energy drain. Most power cables for things like laptops and cell phones continue to pull energy even when the device isn't plugged in. The new rule around here is that if the gadget isn't plugged in and juicing up, the charger is unplugged. (I also charge a few things with a small solar charger but I don't get enough light year round at the patio door to do that more than a couple of months out of the year. I'm continuing to research solar chargers and other devices, however, and am really hoping for a solar lamp for my room sooner than later.)

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(Article from Treehugger.com)

Is Phantom Energy Haunting Your House?: "Many of the electronic devices in your home stay on, even when they're "off." Chargers for cell phones, digital cameras, power tools and other gadgets draw energy even when they're not in use. Appliances like televisions, computer monitors and DVD players can also draw power whenever they're plugged into an outlet. All together, "phantom energy" use accounts for about 5 percent of an individual's home's electricity use."

(Article from Treehugger.com)

"Smart" Power Strips: Helping to Stop Idle Current Now! (TreeHugger): "Tipster Brahm has been hard at work looking for ways to reduce the amount of power drawn by computer accessories when they aren't in use. As we noted in this post, simply unplugging peripherals from the wall helps a lot, but that isn't always possible or practical with things like Brian's VoIP router. And, as anyone using a power strip to power a cubicle or home-office setup is aware, it doesn't take much to get a tangle of wires and plugs and cables. Enter the Wattstopper Plug Load Control and Smart Strip Power Strip. Both help stop the idle current drawn from your outlets when electronics aren't in use, though they go about it in different ways."
"7 outlet 1225 Joules Smart Power Strip WITH Coaxial protection, SCG5" (Smart Strip) $26.95

"Smart Strip 10-Outlet Surge, Lcg5" (BITS Limited) $36.95

(Amazon Affiliate Links)
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7. Watch TV over the Slingbox. This one is probably only for the real hard-core geeks. Most of the time when I'm working I have the TV going in the background. It helps me concentrate. I use my Slingbox to place shift the signal to the laptop. I get the "noise" I want and the Slingbox uses considerably less energy than the television set.
I won't lie to you. It takes discipline to change your behavior in regard to electricity. Most of us were raised to be power hogs. But over time, it will save money and it's definitely the right thing to do with the growing evidence of global warming (a fact that has been clear to some of us for several years now.)

My next major project is to divest ourselves of the extra freezer and refrigerator in the garage. Of course, I have to kill everything in them first, and I've offered the freezer to the Wookie. If we can't work that out, Goodwill is getting a call to come pick them up.
On a personal level, the best part of the energy reduction process is that I often hear my late father laughing over my shoulder. I can't count the thousands of times he growled at me and my mother, "Goddamn it! Do you wenches think I own the electric company?!" Oh Pop, if you were outraged at the prices back then, I shudder to think at what you'd have to say about the rates now.
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Killing the Kilowatt: First Quarter Report (March 29, 2007)

"Electricity Nazi." That's what MissMeliss called me the other day. My first Killing the Kilowatt post reported on my overall success in a more than two-year war with energy consumption here in our home. For the remainder of 2007 I'll be posting each quarter, sharing my on-going effort to keep the numbers headed down. Here are the first quarter figures for the past three years:

- 2005: 3,074 kwh
- 2006: 2,693 kwh
- 2007: 2,288 kwh

I won't make you do the math. The first year I brought our consumption for the first quarter down 381 kwh, and for the second an additional 405 kwh. Since I started keeping records in 2005, our energy use is down 786 kwh for January, February, and March. (Understanding of course that the energy figures are actually for the previous month. I just decided it was easier to go with the date of the bill.)

Using the same rate figure from my first post (0.3155076 cents), the 405 kwh we cut over last year saved us $127.78.

The biggest difference I have to report in the progress of this personal campaign is the fact that I've had to abandon the 15 minute rule. I, like many folk, used to think that if you were going to return to the room within 15 minutes it was cheaper to leave the light on. The Mythbusters, however, disproved that notion and so I've set about training myself to turn lights off no matter what.

I did not realize how much I relied on the 15 minute crutch and now catch myself turning around dozens of times a day to flip off a switch. As I've written before, undertaking this campaign with R. in the house is not easy. There's one light in the kitchen that she prefers to have burning all the time. Now, without discussing it with her, I'm going to leave it off during the day and until I put her to bed at night. Then I'll flip it on because she doesn't like looking down a dark hall into the kitchen. I can respect that.

In the evenings when we watch TV in the breakfast room, I'm being diligent to make sure all other lights in the house are off and that when I need to go into another room, I do it without turning a light on. The mercury vapor driveway lights throw more than enough illumination in my room to get me to the bathroom and back.

When I work in my tiny office at night, there's no reason for the lights in my bedroom to be on. The only "monster" apt to come out of that darkness will be feline and carrying a foam ball asking to play.

The next quarter will be harder. The numbers to beat are:

- 2005: 6,148
- 2006: 6,070

Obviously over the first quarter those figures illustrate the effect of the first half of a Texas summer. But look at what I'm facing in the third quarter:

- 2005: 9,897
- 2006: 8,666

Summer is really hard on my efforts because R., like many elderly people, is totally heat intolerant. We have no shade over our roof, so it's tricky to fiddle with the thermostat. Gradually through the course of the afternoon the house heats up and by five o'clock it's stuffy in here for about an hour. I now understand that running fans is not counter-productive to what I'm trying to do and will actually help the air conditioner to work less. So, stay tuned. The battle continues.

Living with Ed

Ranablog — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:27:22 CDT

(reprinted from Eclectic Mind, February 19, 2007)

(For related information on Rana's personal energy conservation program see: Killing the Kilowatt)

According to R., the Super Bowl was televised last evening specifically to mess up her Sunday viewing. For being a reasonably mature woman about most subjects, she has the patience of a three-year-old when it comes to TV. I managed to placate her with several episodes of "What Not to Wear," before she declared, "I don't want to watch this anymore." Since one of her favorite crime dramas was scheduled to air post game in approximately 30 minutes, I convinced her to watch some of "Living with Ed," a program that follows the lives of environmentally obsessed Ed Begley and his wife Rachelle. Let's just say he's a little bit solar and she's a little bit Rodeo Drive.
According to livingwithed.net:
- their white-picket fence is made out of recycled milk jugs
- the landscaping is all drought tolerant
- much of said landscaping is edible
- there are solar panels on the roof
- his toaster is bicycle-powered
In the episode we watched, Ed received a call to attend the Sundance Film Festival. He opted to drive to Utah in his hybrid, which he charges from the roof top solar panels. (He also has a wind turbine for good measure.) Rachelle decided to fly. She also had to squeeze in time to meet with her publicist (who is also a part-time chicken farmer) before the trip. The most interesting part of the Begleys preparations to me was their use of a TerraPass (mainly to atone for Rachelle flying). This program, which I'd never heard of before, allows you to contribute to the sponsorship of a clean energy project to balance out the emissions your own activities create.
I checked it out at terrapass.com and discovered that even with the little driving we do (I guessed about 2,000 miles a year), we create 1,624 lbs. of Co2, which could be offset with a one-year $29.95 TerraPass. Going with the averages for electrical and gas usage for Texas, the house produces 20,843 lbs. of Co2 (the equivalent of 1,065 gallons of gas), which could be offset by a $104.49 TerraPass.
Some of the energy tips on the calculation page were interesting:
- washing in cold water (which we do) saves 1,066 lbs of Co2 a year
- getting rid of the second fridge (which I need to do) saves 931 lbs.
- replacing three bulbs with compact flourescents (we use nothing else) saves 629 lbs.
- unplugging chargers (which I try to remember to do) 491 lbs.
Frankly, I can't afford the $104.49 TerraPass, but I've put the $29.95 one on my "work into the budget" list. Some of my regular readers may remember entries from summer before last when I was changing light bulbs, calculating energy usage per appliance, and tinting windows in an effort to lower our electrical bills. (Thank to the high rates in our oil-saturated state, I have markedly lowered consumption but am still paying ridiculous monthly bills.)
When I wanted to add a solar panel to the roof and participate in net metering (generating electricity to be fed back into the grid to offset our consumption), I was informed by the electrical company that they would be happy to help me as soon as I took out a $1 million insurance policy on the house to offset the inherent dangers of this "untested technology." In last night's episode Begley's neighbor Bill Nye the Science Guy installed a net metering system with the help of the electric company. [See previous remark re oil state.]
Unlike some folks who have gotten themselves elected to high places in Washington, I know global warming is with us and I am trying (albeit not as assiduously as Begley) to do my part to help. I don't think we can say any longer, "I won't live long enough to see that happen." If you don't believe me, ask the polar bears whose habitat is melting out from under them.
And check out Living with Ed. It will make you laugh, but it will also make you think. A rare combination in television today.

So, What the Heck Do I Do?

Ranablog — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 21:49:29 CDT

Okay, so when you want to talk about something, just add a new page. That will open the topic up for comments to and/or edits and additions to your original commentary.

Let's try to keep track of those in some way. For instance, if you add on to something someone has posted in the body of a page, maybe put your name in brackets or something to identify the new material and change of "voice."

I suspect this kind of "etiquette" will evolve with the community, but I just wanted to give newcomers some idea of what to do with our little monster here since a blank wiki can be an intimidating thing. :-)

Home

Ranablog — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:46:38 CDT

The response to my establishment of InfiniteNotebook.com has been surprising but gratifying. As you know, InfiniteNotebook is more or less the index to my various online endeavors:

- Notes from An Eclectic Mind
- My Flickr Stream
- Paranormal Direct
- Twitter
- My RSS Reader

Since I run the site with Tumblr, there are also clippings and small posts that appear. The message I've been getting is that you want a way to respond and interact beyond the existing commenting features on the individual sites. This was the best solution I could devise. You'll need to request access to post here (see link on the upper right) and then what happens is more or less up to the pleasure of the community. (I think you'll need both a Wetpaint account [free] and an invite from me, so if need be, drop me an email at rana@ranablog.com.)

I'll make sure there are links on the InfiniteNotebook posts that will bring you here. When you have something to say or contribute, sound off. Don't be bashful. Wikis aren't really message boards and they aren't blogs either, but rather a collaborative medium where the sky is the limit.

My only rule is play nice. Anybody who starts being unkind, abusive, insulting [add other unpleasant actions of your choice], gets kicked out of the sandbox -- 'cause it's my sandbox and I get to say. ;-)