Buying contact lenses online

Not so long ago, a month's supply of contact lenses would cost you an arm and a leg. Nowadays, however, visually disadvantaged folk like myself can save a bit of money by getting our contact lenses online for a reasonable price. I've noticed that laser eye surgery is also becoming ever more affordable... may have to check that out!

Tags: vision, contact lenses, laser, eye

Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL)

There's quite a bit in the news at the moment about dodgy TEFL courses. Indeed I know that in Taiwan and China (probably like many other countries) some westerners don't bother with any accreditation at all and assume that they can teach English just because they can speak it. Of course, this is not recommended!

So I've had a quick look into this and found out that an accredited course is not that expensive, even for a gap year student. Course organisers like www.onlinetefl.com can provide an online course and also set you up with a job abroad. You can even get them to call you first (whichever country you're in) to discuss what qualification you're interested in attaining.

Related: TEFL, education

Quit smoking now!

The UK-wide smoking ban in public places will be in effect in a few hours. About time too. Hopefully this, probably one of the most important health measures in UK for decades, will save a few non-smokers' lives. Maybe a few smokers will give up too. With new drugs like Champix now on the market, now seems like as good a time as any!

Maths lessons to improve maths skills

ConquerMaths is a virtual tutor that helps you get better at maths. Covering subjects ranging from algebra to trigonometry, the lessons are mainly geared towards pupils aged 11-16 (i.e. up to GCSE exams) though really they're open to anyone who wants to become more numerate.

BBC online did a feature on Conquer Maths saying that a Teeside school doubled its GCSE pass rate because of it and pupils even logged in on Christmas Day! Sounds like a solution for parents who think their child needs to be getting better grades in maths.

Tags: maths, education, GCSE

Discount shopping made even easier

A live feed of the new products found by Price Cut Review is now up and running. There is a UK version too although it should be noted that the US one has many more items and is therefore updated more frequently.

This feature is quite similar to Live Web Stats, which is offered here at Nimisis.com, in that it uses Ajax and allows you to see what's going on in real time. Currently the live product feed only works in Firefox.

Related: statistics, half price

Robots in disguise

The eagerly anticipated Transformers movie is coming out soon! Here are some trailers and TV spots.

(Image: Transformers Movie Leader Optimus Prime from Amazon US & UK)

See also: Transformers, trailer, film, robot

Is it obvious when you lie?

This is a little experiment to test how subtle (or obvious) you come across during the odd occasion that you try to be "creative with the truth." A webcam, speakers and Flash Player 9 are required to take part. For the sake of not spoiling the results, you are asked to do the test first - the theory is explained further down on this page.

Turn on the speakers and set up your webcam so that your face will be seen clearly. Below is a Flash movie that forms the test. Once you allow the page to see your webcam, four mental tasks (lasting less than a minute all together) will be asked of you. Your reactions will be recorded within the Flash movie. Note that this is a temporary recording, local to your computer, and will not be uploaded to any server. Your reactions will then be looped and played back while you read the theory behind this test.
[continue reading »]

Tags: webcam, experiment, lying, NLP

Apple iPhone in stock checker

Similar to the one I did for the Nintendo Wii (which is still proving popular), I've set up an email notification service for folk gagging to get their hands on the soon-to-be-released Apple iPhone. When there are iPhones in the shops, you'll receive an alert via email. Sign up now!

Related: Apple, iPhone, in stock, notification

« previous