The Optical Vision Site

More and More Free Stuff At Vision Expo East

The Free Stuff keeps rolling in! Make sure you take 2 suitcases with you to Vision Expo East.

I know where I will be at 4:30 everyday at Signet Armorlite for FREE Massages! Signet Armorlite’s booth LP1366  is celebrating a   newly introduced KODAK Lenses with Anti-Fatigue Technology.  And be sure to visit the booth anytime between 10:30 and 4:00 (3:00 on Sunday) to relieve some of your trade show fatigue as well.

FYSH Eyewear

From Classique Eyewear - Fysh UK and KliiK denmark  Receive a FREE GIFT with your purchase of 18 or more frames The free gift for Fysh UK is a striking Fysh tote bag The free gift for KliiK is a great KliiK umbrella

New Launch from Classique Eyewear – Evatik Eyewear for men- Opening orders only- Purchase 12 frames and receive a FREE designer Evatik gift with purchase. You may include free shipping with this offer. Purchase 18 frames and receive 1 FREE frame, a FREE designer Evatik gift and FREE shipping.

OWA One Minute Mentor – Change is not always difficult

Thank you to the Optical Women’s Association (OWA) and Audrey Pavia of Tura for this post –
Change Is Not Always Difficult – This is relevant whether you are in a small or large business – optical or non-optical! Thank you Audrey for an excellent One Minute Mentor tip!

In corporate life, at least, change is not only the ‘only constant’ but it is also frequently a thorn in one’s side! You know that it is necessary, but how are you going to get people to go along with it and welcome it? The underlying assumption is that people are going to resist it. So it is necessary to design change management programs with touchy-feely content as well as the hard systems and physical changes.

However, there are situations where people adapt remarkably quickly, without ‘help’. For example, when you join a new company, they have a way of doing things that is undoubtedly different from the way you have been used to. But what do you do? You do your best to adapt to this foreign method of doing things. Whatever thoughts you may have had during the first few days about the oddness of the place are very soon displaced in your desire to become a useful part of your new environment. In the process, you have made all sorts of changes to yourself without pain: you have a cup of coffee at 10 AM, not as soon as you get in to work; you attend meetings that run into lunch, where before you had a strict lunch break; you complete your meeting notes the day of the meeting, instead of the day before the next one. And that’s just the small stuff. Now you are working for a new boss, with new colleagues and new people to get to know. These same changes could happen if you were already an employee and the organization simply ‘reorganized’. In this case would your actions and reactions be the same? Probably not!

So what is the difference that makes change easy in one situation but not in another? Surely it is in the mind of the individual. In one situation they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. In the other they might come out worse off. In the first case, they made the decision for themselves and had worked out in advance what it was worth to them. In the second case, the decision was made for them and the reasons for the change did not specifically have their personal interest in mind. The instigators of the change were looking for benefits to the organization, not to individuals. The first is self-centered; the latter is organization-centered. Being a part in the machine is fine when we’re a ‘big wheel’ but not so fine when you are a smaller one that may have to whirl faster.

The fear of loss is greater than the fear of gain. When there is nothing to lose, change is not a problem.

Audrey Pavia is Vice President of Marketing at Tura LP. Tura eyewear collections include Tura Flex, Lulu Guinness, Ted Baker, Tourneau and Goldfinch

Blind Photographers- Fantastic Images From The Visually Impaired.

If you want to be impressed and awed, check out The Blind Photographer Image site. The images are from blind or visually impaired photographers and cover a wide span of subjects going over a few years.

Blind Photographers

There is a blog on the site, you can visit them on Facebook as well. I am wowed by the creative expression the subject matter the abilities of those who are visually impaired to produce such work.

OptoWest-Relaxing, Great Fun, Fabulous Education, Stunning Location

I can’t believe that we are already in March! Where does the time go? Opto-West Time is coming and I can’t wait! Last year was the first time the California Optometric Association had OptoWest in Indian Wells, CA and I will tell you in all my 30 years of attending Opto-West conventions, this is the best location and the best time I have had at a California Educational Eyecare Event.

OptoWest At the Hyatt Grand Championship in Indian Wells

First the location is absolutely wonderful, the rooms big, the beds comftable, everybody loved the kid camp and it was so relaxing. Even some of my jaded OD buddies said they are coming back to meet and network with friends. The best part besides the education which is always excellent, the outdoor patio was definitely my favorite, because even if you go alone, this is a great place to met and hook up with new connections.

The other thing that is so great, it is a great place for kids and family. In fact I was a little surprised at how many OD’s made this a family getaway, bringing moms and dads, not just for babysitting, but to share time, whether on the golf course, sitting by the pool, hiking or shopping. So if you bring the wives, tell them, I heard good things about the on-site spa!

I know I should write about the education, but it is a given because the COA  is known for the quality  of the speakers and education. The speaker list:

• Madhu Agarwal, MD
• Jeffrey R. Anshel, BS, OD, FAAO
• Sharon Carter
• Raymond Chu, OD, MS, FAAO
• Laurie Guest, COT
• Alan Kabat, OD, FAAO
• Rebecca Kammer, OD, FAAO
• Anne-Marie Lahr, OD
• John Lahr, OD, FAAO
• Charissa Lee, OD
• Anthony Litwak, OD, FAAO
• Clarke Newman, OD, FAAO
• Bruce Onofrey, OD, RPh, FAAO
• Jim Owen, OD, MBA, FAAO
• Phyllis L. Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
• Rhonda Robinson, OD
• Glenda Secor, OD, FAAO
• Leo P. Semes, OD, FAAO
• Diana Shechtman, OD, FAAO
• Paul Tornambe, MD, FACS
• Samantha Toth, ABOC
• Barry A. Weissman, OD, PhD, FAAO (Dip CL)
• Maurice J. Wilson, OD

This year there is something new from the AOA, a special pre-Conference session on Practice Transitions. Should be an interesting session.

All I know, this is one trade show I am looking forward to and I highly recommend anyone to attend, especially those in cold climates who want to get away from snow or rain, because if the weather is like it was last year, a balmy 75 degrees, how could anyone resist.

Eye-How To Make Emergency Snow Goggles

More snow in the US of A- so what happens if you slip and lose your sunglasses? Some helpful hints on how to make your own!

What do you do if you have lost your sunglasses.. and you are risking blindness from the glare off the snow? Make yourself a pair of emergency snow goggles. These can also be used on sunny days when on the water to stop the glare!

ET will be at Vision Expo East 2010

When I see ET I still see an image of Steven Spielberg’s ET but the ET at Vision Expo East will be ETechnology not an extra terrestrial! I am amazed about how fast social media has become part of our business. Lucky for us optical people the Vision Expo organizers have embraced ETechnology in a big way and it will be an opportunity for us to use and learn more about ETechnology.

Here are some ways Vision Expo is using social media and texting to provide immediate responses to questions during the show:

1 – Live video coverage hosted on VEE’s YouTube page. Three videographers will shoot video live from the show floor, conference and special events throughout the week. Including interviews and testimonials from eyecare professionals and  manufacturers. Reminders to watch the coverage will be updated on the show’s Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn pages.

2 – Virtual Help Desk: Attendees and exhibitors can text questions to a Virtual Help Desk at 36263. Way it works: someone at a customer care counter gets all of the texts. They can then respond. I personally, particularly like this one as texting is a lot easier than talking on the cell at a noisy show or when try to get from A to B!

3 – Twitter conversation: I learned something new about Twitter already from this post - Use #visionexpo when talking about the show. The hashtag (#) is a way to unite global Tweets around some particular topic. Basically, you may not follow someone and they might follow you, but if everyone uses #visionexpo when talking about the show, you can search by the hashtag and read tweets from everyone commenting on the event.  I think I would like to use this feature just to get the practice and experience using Twitter more to find out what is going on. (I haven’t used Tweeter other than on my computer so far.)

While we are on the subject of ETechnology, here are some additional links that might be useful to you regarding VEE:

• Show Specials
• What’s New
• Travel
• International
• Vodcasts

Driving in Sunglasses at Night??? We Say No Way!

Corey Hart - Sunglasses at Night

We have a question for you Eyecare Professionals, there is an email that keeps popping up about wearing sunglasses to see better in the rain including at NIGHT!! What kind of feedback should we give consumers on this if we get questions. We  say wearing sunglasses at night in the rain is a very bad idea and can’t possibly be safe.

The subject line in the email we are referring to is:  VISION IN A DOWNPOUR. It is going around right now,  especially in Southern California where we are having a lot of rain which we are not used to!! We at the Optical Vision Site say NO to wearing sunglasses at night! Under what rainy conditions do we say yes to wearing sunglasses? We know that polarized sunglasses are good for rain and glare during the day (see post Sun Protection Even When it Rains) but what about when light levels are low?

Understanding Sun and Sports Eyewear-The Market

Getting ready for sunglass season, (which is actually all year), this is a good time to review the features and benefits of sunwear, the performance factors, lens performance, mirror coats for performance and frame designs and materials.

In the February Issue of  Visioncare Product News there is a continuing education insert was absolutely fantastic! Approved for ABO credit, it is written by Sharon Leonard and one the best pieces of sport and performance eyewear pieces I have read. What Puts the Performance in Sports Performance Sunwear?.

Even if you are not looking for ABO credit, I would highly recommend reviewing this article at a staff meeting and brush up on your sport and performance eyewear presentation. Just in case you don’t think their is a market: From Totally Optical:

WHO WEARS IT?

‘You might be a bit surprised by how big and lucrative the sports performance market is. According to the National Golf Foundation, there were 26.8 million active golfers in the U.S. in 2008, with 489.1 million rounds of golf played, and over $18 billion spent on “performance-enhancing” products. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost $14 billion are spent on accessory ski equipment such as gloves, goggles, and specialized eyewear. Cycling is another biggie. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that approximately 57 million of the U.S. population aged over 6 were on bicycles during the last few years. That includes racers and recreational cyclists. Then comes fishing! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveys revealed that over 30 million people aged over 16 were fishing in lakes, oceans, and waterways. And there are other activities, like mountaineering, motorcycling, tennis, sailing, and hiking that might be enhanced with performance eye- wear. Yes, this is a big market indeed. can provide. This may include high-tech frame materials and designs, or unique lens designs, materials, and colors.

Many recreational activities, like skiing, tennis, fishing, cycling, boating, and golfing also have their own unique eyewear needs in terms of safety and light protection. Whatever the activity, if wearers spend enough time doing it, then they want to do it well. And, they want to look pretty cool while doing it, too!’