I ended up writing an article on my website about this comic, with my own additional tips:
http://www.phoenixgarage.org/show_article/117
Goggles or safety glasses are best, but I have found that my large ugly glasses work fairly well. I bought them purposefully because I wanted something like the old-time 1960's engineer's horn-rim black frames. They come close: thick black frames, larger lenses... The clerk at the vision center tried to keep me from buying them; I was looking for something like I wanted, and I asked if they had anything like it. They told me (hesitantly) "yes, but we keep them behind the counter - we call them dateless glasses because if you wear them, nobody will date you..."
I told them I didn't give damn, show them to me. I tried them on and liked them, but they thought my wife (who was also there with me getting her eyes examined and new glasses) would be horrified over my choice (these are NERD glasses - I love 'em!) - they ended up bringing my wife out in the middle of the exam; their mouths dropped agape when she exclaimed how cool she thought they looked!
Glasses like these which cover the whole eye, and part of the cheek, while not perfect for soldering, aren't real bad for it, either.
Now - if you do any acid-core soldering (metal work), you definitely want real goggles, and a fan of some sort; if you think rosin flux fumes is irritating to the eyes, acid-core is much worse - it can be like peeling onions sometimes if you don't have good ventilation.
