Eyewear give and take

By the way; the eyewear blog entries are meant to be edumacational. Which means the key is communicating effectively. That's not always easy for someone who is more technical (me) when talking with the end user who doesn't need to be (that's you). The goal here is not to teach you terms like PD, CR39, TR39, Megol, etc. It's to translate our gobble-d-guk into plain English. So feel free to ask questions, challenge assertions or just plain ask how this relates to a specific problem you have. I hope that the interactive process helps this blog series get refined into something usable on the website under developed "Science of Eyewear" section.

And, as many of you know, I am not afraid to offer alternative solution other companies have. Our line is an alternative and I won't pretend that all other eyewear sucks. I will call out companies I do think suck. But I will praise ones I like as well (except the Big Marketing Firm from CA which likes to sue anyone who mentions their name). They make good eyewear too, they just don't we me to tell you that.

Ginny Bloggin' P2

Yesterdays entry got interupted so here's more on the Ginny.

The core of our products is always the lenses. We use Carl Zeiss lenses. A lot of you are familiar with the ReActive series of Photochromic lenses. The one the Ginny sports are a different series. Carl Zeiss refers to the as Field of Play. Each lens sports a color designed to enhance visual accuity. For the high tint lenses the color is green. Green is a medium contrast color that opens your retina somewhat to enhance texture and depth perception, but not a lot. The medium tint lens sports the tried and true red coloration, which is a high contrast.

Matching color and tint can be a challenge. Since coloration starves the retina of specific light waves causing it to expand, you want to be carefull to pair it with a complimentary tinit. For example, since the red lens is hicontrast, it's not really a sunlens. So you wouldn't pair it with a heavy tint since that's for bright days. By putting a green color on the dark tint lens you open the retina a bit, but not a lot. So you get the benefit of some enhanced contrast, without your retina basically running around completely naked in the baking sun.

Carl Zeiss's field of play series is also Polycarbonate, unlike the photochromic lenses which are CR39. That really big marketing company from California has spent millions of dollars to convince you that PC is the best thing ever. The reality is that any material used or design chosen has benefits and costs.

PC's primary benefit is it's impact resistance. It passes ANSI's highest impact standards and essentially qualifies as a "safety glass". On a practical level that means it's "safe" to use for shooting, construction, motorcycle riding or other activities where objects may hit you at very very high speeds. The famous example is the construction worker who shot himself in the face with a nail gun. The nail impacted and penetrated the lens but did not hit his eye. Whew!

Another advantage is thickness. PC lenses are thinner (and, coincidentally lighter) than CR39 lenses. This allows more flexibility in frame design because the lens is easier to cut into a frames bevel. What does that mean? The Ohop uses a CR39 lens and a major challenge is cutting the lens so that it stays in the frame. Because it's thick the whole lens doesn't go into the bevel. It has to be tapered. Additional the extra thickness of the CR39 means that if you flex the Ohop the lens will not flex as well... flex it enough and pop out comes the lens. The thinner PC lens on the other hand fits right into the bevel with no taper. And because it's thinner and PC it will flex with the frame to a greater degree. So you get greater lens stability.

Now that doesn't come without a cost....

PC lenses may be thinner, lighter and more impact resistant than CR39, but they also have lower inherent optical quality and clarity. Put bluntly, PC lenses tend to shoot lightwaves off at angles, appear cloudy to the eye and generally are hard to see through. But many companies have worked long and hard to correct these problems. It looks like the industry as a whole has made great strides towards using decentered lens and proper cut techniques to improve the visual clarity. On the otherhand, many of the lenses used by mid-level and low-level companies still seem to be pretty low quality.

Carl Zeiss's field of play lenses seem to have both nailed. The lenses are crisp and clear, and the decentering means outstanding clarity. We use Zeiss because while they can be pain to work with one of the reasons they are a pain is that they won't hesitate to destroy entire runs of lenses that don't meet their exacting standards. As an aside Carl Zeiss does not currently offer PC Photochromic (ReActive in our parlance) because they do not feel that the 2 technologies have been properly married yet. That's why our ReActive line uses CR39: we only use Carl Zeiss and so far PC Photochromic lenses don't match the optical quality they demand.

Weekly Eyewear Blogging: The Ginny

Our new Fall product is in, and it's exciting. The product turned out better than we expected and I already have the office pool fired up on which specific color and which model sells out first. Of course, I was wrong about the Ohop were both run of Metal Blue sold out the quickest. Yah that's right. We're already out of Metal Blue again. But anyway the challenge today is which model to present.

While I think the Stungunner will be our biggest seller of the new run, I am going to start off with the Ginny. It's our 2nd womens specific model (the other is the Kitty) and the first womens' specific half orbital.

The frame colors shown are Bone White (AKA Beige) and Pewter. The models are the beautiful Mrs. PDog and PPuppy 2.0 for the Bone Ginny and PPuppy 1.0 for the Pewter Ginny.
Mrs. PDog and PPuppy 2.0 want you to know that they are in a hurry and don't have time for stupid pictures. Which, I don't get. Who doesn't have time for pictures when you are in a hurry to take the baby to daycare and get into work before your 9:30 meeting. At 8:50.

PPuppy 1.0 wants me to tell you he lost those teeth showing El Gato how he rolls. While I have no doubt PPuppy 1.0 could take El Gato in a tussle (since El Gato is normally drunk when he comes over) I suspect the truth is he's 6.


Not shown is the PowderBlue w/ Pink Trim that will be adorning Stoked in about 5 hours or whenever mail gets delivered.

Definitely not gay

So Sen Craig of ID, a longtime anti-gay politician whom has been widely known to be gay among political insiders and those that pay attention, was arrested for solicitation. Sorry Senator Craig but the Brits have already one-upped you.

Paging Kit...

Anyone know Kit of the Byrne teams contact info?

We're #3!

How much does a bronze medal in the State TTT cost a fat and slow bastard such as myself? Turns out it's $250 + shipping, the cost for a crash replacement of my now less than perfect disk wheel. PS, there's a big gap on the bridge so try not to hit it hard.

An Italian Company with a Seattle office.

I'm in.

CWalk is back jack.

View from a ledge

"Don't jump PDog," says Gary.
"What," I respond?
"Don't jump. I read your blog. I am worried you will jump," says Gary.
"Yah PDog! Need a hug?" pipes in Argentinofolesiusimum
"Oh, I am not jumpin'. That wasn't meant to imply I feel beaten down. I learned to let it roll off my back awhile ago."
"Good," says Gary and Argentiniofulsificator "cause we need you alive until the new eyewear comes in"

State Champ Jerseys.....

I have been getting several requests for State Champ jerseys. So to answer the general question, no we are not doing State Champ jerseys anymore. I do have artwork and would be happy to pass it on to anyone who wants to do it. Also, there is a place in Fremont that can do 1 offs.....

The other question I get is why. Well I think I blogged about this before but I will again...

As a sponsor, we purchased and sold the jerseys as a goodwill gesture. We sold them for our cost, which meant that we actually lost money when you count in the fact we had to carry inventory and the associated revenue cashflow reduction. And business is all about the cash flow.

95% of the cyclists who bought the jersey were great and very appreciative. But the other 5% and a small but significant number of cyclists where not. And I am not talking about the cyclists who were impacted by a mistake we or a vendor may have made (1 set of jerseys by Champion Systems came w. Orange instead of Gold). I am talking about the ones who called or emailed and complained that the jerseys cost to much, demanded we should give them jerseys for free or complained that we didn't have a their exact size. And generally, it wasn't 1 of those complaints: it was all 3. Unfortunately those also tend to be the people who then complain to their friends.

At the end of the day, we are spending money to generate positive press. If the impression people have is negative then it isn't worth it. It's unfortunate that for us a very small, but vocal, minority made a program I happened to like become a liability. But there you go.

I do hope to one day bring the program back.. maybe when we are at a point were we can promote the program ourselves to counterbalance the inevitable few who feel entitled to spend other peoples money but not their own. Or, frankly, if enough people shout out that they liked the program and thought it rocked then we may do it again. It is, after all, about the positive press.


Which brings me to another, related but different side not. Appreciate your team managers. We just got in our cyclocross kit and I grabbed myself 2 jerseys and some bibs. As I did that I realized that I have been wearing last years kit until last Thursday all year, with the exception of 1 jersey. I also have been riding the Seigler Aluminum rather than the Carbon. Why? Because other guys have needed stuff and I've redirected my allotment to them.

Yet I know there are guys on the team who think I must be making bank on the team. And I know that every team manager has a contingent that is convinced the thier team is a big money laundering scheme. I am sure that does happen. But my experience is that a) those same people very rarely contribute enough time and energy to the team to have any freakin' clue what goes into running a team either in terms of finances or time and b) most team managers end up spending their own money to cover shortfalls i.e. clothing order, etc.

Running a team tends to be a thankless task with the added bonus of being accused of embezzlement. So were am i going with this? Just a suggestion that the next time one is tempted to complain about how their team is run or how much money their manager must be skimming why not step up and find out what really goes on? Why not offer to use your credit card for the next clothing order? Why not put on your team race and cover the permit costs? In otherwords it's easy to complain when your it's someone else's reputation or money that's on the line.


And just so you know I am not taking about you. You are great. I am talking to you over there. yah you. You suck. But you there... you are fine.

Put a fork in me..

I am done. Work, illness and general fatherhood have finally sapped my desire to suffer.

Tonight I Ride In Hell

After suffering through a 3 hour endurance ride yesterday I predict nothing but pain and suffering for my legs tonight. Normally I might consider begging you all to go easy and nice on me. I am, after all, a really nice guy whose well being should be encouraged by slow paces.

But I have come to realize that you are all, each and every one of you, sadistic sick bastards that ride only for the joy of watching me suffer.

You suck.

Note to Seattle Police Guild

Contrary to what the head of the Guild says on Dave Ross' talk show, planting evidence on people is not just doing your job.

Ungrateful Bastards

Anonymous said...

SNOOOOOOOOOOZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! I think Jamie's blog is more exciting

Yes, that's right. You all are ungrateful Bastards. Last year I brought you all sorts of funny. And my reward? Increased expectations and demands to bring the funny. Well, there is nothing funny about riding with you guys. I hate you all. You are all on my Bastardo list.

When Pruitt rides hard, instead of fetting him with roses and having the beautiful ladies of Wines of Washington hand feed him grapes you attack! Instead of gentile words of encouragement you mention how PDog appears to be 6 months pregnant.

It is scientifically proven that PDog's pace is the best pace and the pace you should ride at. But do you care that PDog has taken great pains to ride at the best pace? No, you attack and attack and make fun of PDog while he convulses on the ground from Oxygen debt.

I hate you.

But I love you too.

I am confused.