Blinders - To See or Not to See

Today's Fashion Frames -- Glasses Bring Focus

Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but I like my peripheral vision. That is your ability to see things to the side of you while looking straight ahead. It helps you avoid people running lights or climbing into your blind spot while driving and enhances your shoulder checks. It also lets you know when someone has come up beside you when it is too noisy to hear them. Peripheral vision does that sort of thing for you.

(Reading glasses -- image to right from Image*After)

But looking at fashionable frames on the typical glasses I see more and more people wearing I see frames with temples that seem to block most peripheral vision except maybe from gophers and pigeons sideswiping you. Temples -- by the way - are the side arms of the glasses that go from the hinge part back and over the ears. My Mom worked for an optometrist and glasses manufacturing company for a while and she passed on some of those terms to me.

For myself I have gone to thinner and thinner temples and thinner frames. My frames are a bit ancient... I guess not too many are wearing glasses from the 20th century... and have metal frames all around the lenses and metal temples. I am wearing them in many of my biography pictures I have in my columns. Mine aren't as frameless as the ones above and to the right.

The ones I see more and more often on office people, news reporters, and fashion conscious folk are like the ones to the left. (image to left -- image from iOffer). I do admit they can look sharp. Sometimes they seem a bit odd when the lenses are frameless and have these massive wide temples. They can almost look like the person isn't wearing glasses at all, just the wide dark temples sticking forward from their ears like errant combs or pens.

Still I wonder at how much peripheral vision they remove. I do see from my looking for example photos of the wide templed glasses that the narrow templed ones are still there and still stylish enough. That is a relief for I fear my old faithful frames should likely be replaced soon.

But I wonder... are those blinders good or bad... are there so many distractions in the workplace that people need blinders so that they can focus on their work and the job at hand? Perhaps with a cellphone in one hand and a latte in the other while walking to the subway -- I hope not while driving -- they need a way to focus on the sidewalk ahead with fewer distractions. Just like the draft horses of the past...

Later!
~ Darrell

132.

Big Woof little woof

Will There Be Two Species of Dog?

Have you noticed that there seem to be nearly exclusively two sorts of dog owner? Those who want the wee lap dogs that would fit into a purse or nearly a pocket and those who want the nastiest fighting pit bull around.

I know some people want an Alsatian -- German Shepherd -- rather than a pit bull or pit bull cross and some want some other large breed dog... mastiff and greyhound come to mind ...but some of the intent is for a dog that can take care of itself in a fight and protect property and loved ones if not only just it's master. They still want a big sturdy dog.

The small dogs seem to be getting smaller. I know the "teacup" poodles have been around as a small sized toy poodle for a long while. It isn't an actual breed but the teacup poodles are the smallest of the toy litters bred with the smallest in order to get the smallest of poodles. People are discovering more and more of these toy breeds even though some like the Papillon have been around forever -- you can see them in medieval European paintings. I guess they are very popular because you get all the companionship of a dog in a small bundle you can take travelling with you or indoors even.

I can imagine the large strong dogs getting larger and stronger -- though perhaps more in the muscular range. My imagination does think to the monster of a black lab a friend has. It seems to have a bit of Great Dane in it, but it is pure bred Lab.

I can see the future, a lady riding out in the green belt and drawing her mount to a stream while holding a nearly hamster sized Cocker Spaniel in the crook of her arm. She'll slip off whispering a command in the large animal's ear as another lady approaches riding a fine chestnut mare holding her own teacup poodle. She gets off and allows her horse a drink.

"That's a fine dog you're riding. Staffordshire-Mastiff cross?"

"Why yes, they make great mounts."

Two small shapes dart out of the underbrush -- a dwarfed Tamworth pig and a Falabella pinto.

The woman with the large riding dog exclaims, "What wonderful animals!"

"Meet Donner and blitzen. They are great companions on a ride..."

Well I guess it is a bit far fetched that they'd breed dogs large enough to ride in any near future, but the pet pigs and horses -- small enough to have even in the house -- are here. Falabella are miniature horses.

Still I wonder if we will be left with the toy breeds and the large breeds and them become so separate as to become separate species? ... oh, and Jack Russell Terriers.

Later!
~ Darrell

127.