This post is mainly for documentation purposes. I'll be posting something really cool soon! Below is the code you can use to make your own. By copying it here I can link to it in other places. Lets see if any Code Monkeys read my blog and can guess what I might be making!
Arduino Code:
/*
Full Game
The circuit:
* LED attached from pin 13 to ground
* Thumb connected to A0
* 4 finger inputs connect to digital pins 2-5
* Finger pins 2-5 connected to rows 2-5 on bread board
* 360 ohm resistors connected from rows 2-5 to ground on bread board
* Ground on bread board connected to GND on Arduino
* (Serial monitor connected to pins 0 and 1 via usb)
* Note: there is already an LED on the board attached to pin 13.
http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Button
*/
// constants won't change. They're used here to
// set pin numbers:
const int G1ThumbPin = A0; // the number of the G1 Thumb pin
const int G1FingerPinI = 5; // the number of G1 Index Finger input pin
const int G1FingerPinM = 4; // the number of G1 Middle Finger input pin
const int G1FingerPinR = 3; // the number of G1 Ring Finger input pin
const int G1FingerPinP = 2; // the number of G1 Pinky Finger input pin
const int G2ThumbPin = A1; // the number of the G2 Thumb pin
const int G2FingerPinI = 11; // the number of G2 Index Finger input pin
const int G2FingerPinM = 10; // the number of G2 Middle Finger input pin
const int G2FingerPinR = 9; // the number of G2 Ring Finger input pin
const int G2FingerPinP = 8; // the number of G Pinky Finger input pin
const int LED1Pin = A2;
const int LED2Pin = A3;
const int LED3Pin = A4;
const int LED4Pin = A5;
const int P1GreenPin = 6;
const int P1RedPin = 7;
const int P2GreenPin = 12;
const int P2RedPin = 13;
const String PatternOptions = "IMRP";
// variables will change:
int randNumber;
int RoundNumber;
// declare three strings:
String G1Pattern, G2Pattern, ActualPattern;
String G1Input, G2Input;
String PatternInput;
void setup() {
// if analog input pin 0 is unconnected, random analog
// noise will cause the call to randomSeed() to generate
// different seed numbers each time the sketch runs.
// randomSeed() will then shuffle the random function.
pinMode(A0,INPUT);
randomSeed(analogRead(A0));
// initialize Thumb pins as an output:
pinMode(G1ThumbPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(G2ThumbPin, OUTPUT);
// initialize the G1 pins as inputs:
pinMode(G1FingerPinI, INPUT);
pinMode(G1FingerPinM, INPUT);
pinMode(G1FingerPinR, INPUT);
pinMode(G1FingerPinP, INPUT);
// initialize the G1 pins as inputs:
pinMode(G2FingerPinI, INPUT);
pinMode(G2FingerPinM, INPUT);
pinMode(G2FingerPinR, INPUT);
pinMode(G2FingerPinP, INPUT);
//Initialize Board LEDs as an output:
pinMode(LED1Pin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(LED2Pin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(LED3Pin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(LED4Pin, OUTPUT);
//Initialize Indicator lights
pinMode(P1GreenPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(P1RedPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(P2GreenPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(P2RedPin, OUTPUT);
// initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second:
Serial.begin(9600);
ActualPattern = "";
RoundNumber=1;
}
void loop(){
//Start game loop
//initialize round number to 1 and pattern to Null string
// RoundNumber=1;
// ActualPattern="";
int RoundOver=false;
//start round loop
do {
Serial.println("begin round");
//create the pattern
while (ActualPattern.length() < RoundNumber) {
// print a random number from 0 to 3
randNumber = random(4);
// Serial.println(PatternOptions[randNumber]);
PatternInput = String(PatternOptions[randNumber]);
if (ActualPattern.endsWith(PatternInput)) {
ActualPattern = ActualPattern;
}
else {
ActualPattern = ActualPattern + PatternInput;
Serial.println("ActPat");
Serial.println(ActualPattern);
}
}
//Send pattern to LEDs
for (int x=0; x<=ActualPattern.length(); x++){
switch (ActualPattern[x]){
case 'I':
//send signal to LED1
digitalWrite(LED1Pin, HIGH); //turn the LED on by making the voltage HIGH
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(LED1Pin, LOW); // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
break;
case 'M':
//send signal to LED2
digitalWrite(LED2Pin, HIGH); //turn the LED on by making the voltage HIGH
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(LED2Pin, LOW); // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
break;
case 'R':
//send signal to LED3
digitalWrite(LED3Pin, HIGH); //turn the LED on by making the voltage HIGH
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(LED3Pin, LOW); // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
break;
case 'P':
//send signal to LED4
digitalWrite(LED4Pin, HIGH); //turn the LED on by making the voltage HIGH
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(LED4Pin, LOW); // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
break;
}
}
//***** BEGIN Reading inputs from Gloves *****
// initialize G1 states
int G1IState=LOW;
int G1MState=LOW;
int G1RState=LOW;
int G1PState=LOW;
// initialize G2 states
int G2IState=LOW;
int G2MState=LOW;
int G2RState=LOW;
int G2PState=LOW;
//reset G1Input to null
G1Input = "";
G2Input = "";
G1Pattern = "";
G2Pattern = "";
//set ThumbPins to High
digitalWrite(G1ThumbPin, HIGH);
digitalWrite(G2ThumbPin, HIGH);
while (G1Pattern.length()<ActualPattern.length() || G2Pattern.length()<ActualPattern.length())
{
// read the state of the G1FingerPinI value:
G1IState = digitalRead(G1FingerPinI);
// check if the G1I is pressed.
// if it is, the G1IState is HIGH:
if (G1IState == HIGH) {
// print out I:
// Serial.println("I");
G1Input = "I";
}
// read the state of the G1FingerPinM value:
G1MState = digitalRead(G1FingerPinM);
// check if the G1M is pressed.
// if it is, the G1MState is HIGH:
if (G1MState == HIGH) {
// print out M:
// Serial.println("M");
G1Input = "M";
}
// read the state of the G1FingerPinR value:
G1RState = digitalRead(G1FingerPinR);
// check if the G1R is pressed.
// if it is, the G1RState is HIGH:
if (G1RState == HIGH) {
// print out R:
// Serial.println("R");
G1Input = "R";
}
// read the state of the G1FingerPinP value:
G1PState = digitalRead(G1FingerPinP);
// check if the G1P is pressed.
// if it is, the G1PState is HIGH:
if (G1PState == HIGH) {
// print out P:
// Serial.println("P");
G1Input = "P";
}
if (G1Pattern.endsWith(G1Input)) {
G1Pattern = G1Pattern;
}
else {
G1Pattern = G1Pattern + G1Input;
Serial.println("G1Pat");
Serial.println(G1Pattern);
}
// read the state of the G2FingerPinI value:
G2IState = digitalRead(G2FingerPinI);
// check if the G2I is pressed.
// if it is, the G2IState is HIGH:
if (G2IState == HIGH) {
// print out I:
// Serial.println("I");
G2Input = "I";
}
// read the state of the G2FingerPinM value:
G2MState = digitalRead(G2FingerPinM);
// check if the G2M is pressed.
// if it is, the G2MState is HIGH:
if (G2MState == HIGH) {
// print out M:
// Serial.println("M");
G2Input = "M";
}
// read the state of the G2FingerPinR value:
G2RState = digitalRead(G2FingerPinR);
// check if the G2R is pressed.
// if it is, the G2RState is HIGH:
if (G2RState == HIGH) {
// print out R:
// Serial.println("R");
G2Input = "R";
}
// read the state of the G2FingerPinP value:
G2PState = digitalRead(G2FingerPinP);
// check if the G2P is pressed.
// if it is, the G2PState is HIGH:
if (G2PState == HIGH) {
// print out P:
// Serial.println("P");
G2Input = "P";
}
if (G2Pattern.endsWith(G2Input)) {
G2Pattern = G2Pattern;
}
else {
G2Pattern = G2Pattern + G2Input;
Serial.println("G2Pat");
Serial.println(G2Pattern);
}
}
//***** END Reading inputs from Gloves *****
// Serial.println(G1Pattern);
int P1Correct=false;
int P2Correct=false;
if (G1Pattern == ActualPattern) {
P1Correct=true;
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, HIGH);
}
else {
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
}
if (G2Pattern == ActualPattern) {
P2Correct=true;
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, HIGH);
}
else {
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
}
delay (3000);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
Serial.println(P1Correct);
Serial.println(P2Correct);
if (P1Correct==true && P2Correct==true) {
RoundNumber=RoundNumber+1;
Serial.println("both correct");
Serial.println(RoundNumber);
}
else {
if (P1Correct==true) {
RoundOver=true;
RoundNumber=1;
ActualPattern="";
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
}
else{
if (P2Correct==true) {
RoundOver=true;
RoundNumber=1;
ActualPattern="";
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2GreenPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
}
else {
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, HIGH);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, HIGH);
delay (500);
digitalWrite(P1RedPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(P2RedPin, LOW);
}
}
}
Serial.println("end round");
} // closes do
while (RoundOver=false);
}
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Unplugged
***Note: I wrote this a few weeks ago, and never got around to posting it because I did my net neutrality post instead, and then got lost in moving land. So, when you read things like "this past week" that's really more like "almost a month ago" but I'm not going to change it. Just thought you should know.***
This past week I read yet another article about unplugging from online/screens. There was nothing all that earth shattering in it, but it was well written and reiterated some nice points. I personally have been trying to distance myself from Facebook more and more. I want to keep using Facebook as a networking and PR tool without losing hours of my day to it. It's a balance struggle that I'm not quite winning yet.
One section of it really hit home for me. His discussion on the psychology and rewards of the internet, and how that leads to compulsive use makes me feel a little better about the hours of time I sometimes loose to Facebook. Here's a excerpt discussing what it was like to ditch all screens:
Those early days of screenlessness were bewildering. My mind, wound up like a top for years, continued spinning. I experienced sporadic surges of angst and adrenaline, sure I was supposed to be doing… something. I’d pull my phone out every few minutes, even though no one was e-mailing me and I’d uninstalled all social-media apps. The habits and mental agitations of digital work life persisted like phantom limbs.
That all made quite a bit of sense to me and I recognize this as one of my struggles with unplugging. Today I want to share a little story related to this. It is so absurd and really drives home the point of this article. A well timed reminder to myself that I need to work to stay unplugged sometimes.
I believe it was the same day I read the article. It may have been the following day. I sent an email to a friend. This friend had recently visited and during the visit I was reminded that a particular aspect of both of our senses of humor is very similar. I was also reminded how nice it is to have someone like that around to laugh hysterically at your funnies. So in this email was a rant that *I* thought was pretty funny and I knew would be right up his alley. I found myself sorta-kinda waiting for his reply and realized that I was waiting for his justification of myself and that I wrote a humorous email. To "broadcast and be acknowledged" if you will.
And if that wasn't sad enough, the story continues. That night I had a little trouble falling asleep. I know my sleep patterns well enough to know that it only takes me 10-15 mins to know sleep isn't happening and to get out of the bed.* So, I headed to the couch to hopefully fall sleep. Here's the crazy part. It's nighttime, past bedtime. I want to be asleep but I'm not. As soon as I entered the living room, I actually thought about turning on my computer to check to see if my friend had answered my email. Luckily I was able to resist this temptation, but it was hard. It was a conscious decision and took some will power to stick by it. It was a perfect example of what was said in the article about wanting to put out and receive online. It was a little eye-opening. Luckily not TOO eye-opening though... I was able to get to sleep pretty quickly after I resisted that temptation.
*Note: Getting out of the bed when you can't sleep is basic sleep hygiene. It works wonders for me. I often leave the bed for the couch or futon and then fall asleep immediately after I move locations. I don't fully understand it, but I don't question something that helps with my intermittent insomnia.
And so, in the past few days, I have made conscious decisions to close the computer and put it away when I'm staring at nothing online waiting for the next Facebook notification to pop up. I had a day where I needed to do work online for my business. I set a timer for 45 mins of online work and then went outside in the sunshine for a 10-15 min walk. I did this three times. It was nice. I still fall into the trap often (I've now been on my computer for almost 3 hours straight this morning) but I'm a bit more aware and concerned. I'm still trying to find the balance.
How do you find the balance?
This past week I read yet another article about unplugging from online/screens. There was nothing all that earth shattering in it, but it was well written and reiterated some nice points. I personally have been trying to distance myself from Facebook more and more. I want to keep using Facebook as a networking and PR tool without losing hours of my day to it. It's a balance struggle that I'm not quite winning yet.
One section of it really hit home for me. His discussion on the psychology and rewards of the internet, and how that leads to compulsive use makes me feel a little better about the hours of time I sometimes loose to Facebook. Here's a excerpt discussing what it was like to ditch all screens:
Those early days of screenlessness were bewildering. My mind, wound up like a top for years, continued spinning. I experienced sporadic surges of angst and adrenaline, sure I was supposed to be doing… something. I’d pull my phone out every few minutes, even though no one was e-mailing me and I’d uninstalled all social-media apps. The habits and mental agitations of digital work life persisted like phantom limbs.
My symptoms were testament to the power of what psychologists call variable intermittent
reinforcement. Famed behaviorist B. F. Skinner discovered long ago that if you really want
to ingrain a habit, you encourage it with rewards that arrive at variable times, in variable
sizes. The lab rat knows that it will periodically be given food for pressing the lever, but not
exactly when or how much. The result: a compulsive rat.
reinforcement. Famed behaviorist B. F. Skinner discovered long ago that if you really want
to ingrain a habit, you encourage it with rewards that arrive at variable times, in variable
sizes. The lab rat knows that it will periodically be given food for pressing the lever, but not
exactly when or how much. The result: a compulsive rat.
It’s the same with humans. Variable intermittent reinforcement explains why slot machines
are so enthralling, why video games contain hidden caches of coins or weapons, and why
we’re all helpless before our e-mail accounts. One time you check your inbox and there’s
a single new message, from LinkedIn, which reminds you that you can’t figure out how to
delete your LinkedIn account. Sad face. The next time you check, you have five new
messages, including one from an old friend and another from a potential employer.
Happy face! So you check, check, check.
are so enthralling, why video games contain hidden caches of coins or weapons, and why
we’re all helpless before our e-mail accounts. One time you check your inbox and there’s
a single new message, from LinkedIn, which reminds you that you can’t figure out how to
delete your LinkedIn account. Sad face. The next time you check, you have five new
messages, including one from an old friend and another from a potential employer.
Happy face! So you check, check, check.
What’s true of e-mail is true of more and more software—the hot trend is to “gamify”
everything, which just means using intermittent reinforcement to hook users. It’s no
accident that you can earn points or badges in virtually every app these days.
everything, which just means using intermittent reinforcement to hook users. It’s no
accident that you can earn points or badges in virtually every app these days.
The kinds of rewards offered in online communities are particularly compelling, based on
what Dan Siegel, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and executive director of the Mindsight
Institute, calls contingent communication. It happens, he told me, when “a signal sent gets
a signal back.” That simple act, evoking a response from another mind, is a key
feature of early childhood development and remains “deeply rewarding,” Siegel said,
satisfying primordial instincts shaped by our evolution as a social species.
what Dan Siegel, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and executive director of the Mindsight
Institute, calls contingent communication. It happens, he told me, when “a signal sent gets
a signal back.” That simple act, evoking a response from another mind, is a key
feature of early childhood development and remains “deeply rewarding,” Siegel said,
satisfying primordial instincts shaped by our evolution as a social species.
A 2012 study by two Boston University psychologists found that Facebook use is driven by
two “primary needs”—the “need for self-presentation” and the “need to belong.” Broadcast
and be acknowledged: that’s a ping. Each one affirms our existence as efficacious agents in
the world and prompts a squirt of reinforcing hormones from the brain’s reward center.
“That,” Siegel said, “is why people will respond to a text while driving a two-ton vehicle.”
NOTE: The TDE does *NOT* text while driving. OK, occasionally while at a red light and I feel guilty whenever I do it. Never while actually driving though. Don't do it!two “primary needs”—the “need for self-presentation” and the “need to belong.” Broadcast
and be acknowledged: that’s a ping. Each one affirms our existence as efficacious agents in
the world and prompts a squirt of reinforcing hormones from the brain’s reward center.
“That,” Siegel said, “is why people will respond to a text while driving a two-ton vehicle.”
That all made quite a bit of sense to me and I recognize this as one of my struggles with unplugging. Today I want to share a little story related to this. It is so absurd and really drives home the point of this article. A well timed reminder to myself that I need to work to stay unplugged sometimes.
I believe it was the same day I read the article. It may have been the following day. I sent an email to a friend. This friend had recently visited and during the visit I was reminded that a particular aspect of both of our senses of humor is very similar. I was also reminded how nice it is to have someone like that around to laugh hysterically at your funnies. So in this email was a rant that *I* thought was pretty funny and I knew would be right up his alley. I found myself sorta-kinda waiting for his reply and realized that I was waiting for his justification of myself and that I wrote a humorous email. To "broadcast and be acknowledged" if you will.
And if that wasn't sad enough, the story continues. That night I had a little trouble falling asleep. I know my sleep patterns well enough to know that it only takes me 10-15 mins to know sleep isn't happening and to get out of the bed.* So, I headed to the couch to hopefully fall sleep. Here's the crazy part. It's nighttime, past bedtime. I want to be asleep but I'm not. As soon as I entered the living room, I actually thought about turning on my computer to check to see if my friend had answered my email. Luckily I was able to resist this temptation, but it was hard. It was a conscious decision and took some will power to stick by it. It was a perfect example of what was said in the article about wanting to put out and receive online. It was a little eye-opening. Luckily not TOO eye-opening though... I was able to get to sleep pretty quickly after I resisted that temptation.
*Note: Getting out of the bed when you can't sleep is basic sleep hygiene. It works wonders for me. I often leave the bed for the couch or futon and then fall asleep immediately after I move locations. I don't fully understand it, but I don't question something that helps with my intermittent insomnia.
And so, in the past few days, I have made conscious decisions to close the computer and put it away when I'm staring at nothing online waiting for the next Facebook notification to pop up. I had a day where I needed to do work online for my business. I set a timer for 45 mins of online work and then went outside in the sunshine for a 10-15 min walk. I did this three times. It was nice. I still fall into the trap often (I've now been on my computer for almost 3 hours straight this morning) but I'm a bit more aware and concerned. I'm still trying to find the balance.
How do you find the balance?
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Hellooooo?
Yes, it's been a little while since my last post and I apologize. I have a pretty darn good excuse though. The ITH got a new job! We weren't able to publicly announce this until he told his direct reports and due to scheduling issues, that didn't happen until 1 week before the move. So I couldn't post anything about it, but I was busy busy busy prepping us for the move.
The TDE lives in Cleveland now! woohoo!
I'll also give you a few quick updates on some things:
1) Hygiene
I tried baking soda for a while, but ultimately I gave up and went back to using soap on my armpits. My current career is just too sweaty for totally soap free. I'm also considering doing some research into those "mineral" deodorants. I've always considered them to be nonsense, but I've never done any actual research so I think it's worth the time for at least basic research. I think my students would appreciate it.
2) Cat Ownership
So you know that awesome solution we came up with to use an old kitty litter tub to store empty cat food cans until we recycle them? At first it worked great. We filled it up, took it to the recycling, and then put in a new garbage bag and started filling it up again. Then, when it was mostly full again, I opened it to put a can in and saw them. Little tiny maggots. Everywhere. Well, only inside the container, but LOTS of them. So for now, we are throwing them away again. Ummmm yeah, don't implement that one. Sorry.
3) I am writing this post about how I FAILED to keep up my blog and then how I FAILED and went back to using soap and then how we FAILED and accidentally started a maggot farm. It all reminds me of something I read somewhere.... oh yeah I wrote a post about it!
That's all for now. TDE out!
The TDE lives in Cleveland now! woohoo!
I'll also give you a few quick updates on some things:
1) Hygiene
I tried baking soda for a while, but ultimately I gave up and went back to using soap on my armpits. My current career is just too sweaty for totally soap free. I'm also considering doing some research into those "mineral" deodorants. I've always considered them to be nonsense, but I've never done any actual research so I think it's worth the time for at least basic research. I think my students would appreciate it.
2) Cat Ownership
So you know that awesome solution we came up with to use an old kitty litter tub to store empty cat food cans until we recycle them? At first it worked great. We filled it up, took it to the recycling, and then put in a new garbage bag and started filling it up again. Then, when it was mostly full again, I opened it to put a can in and saw them. Little tiny maggots. Everywhere. Well, only inside the container, but LOTS of them. So for now, we are throwing them away again. Ummmm yeah, don't implement that one. Sorry.
3) I am writing this post about how I FAILED to keep up my blog and then how I FAILED and went back to using soap and then how we FAILED and accidentally started a maggot farm. It all reminds me of something I read somewhere.... oh yeah I wrote a post about it!
That's all for now. TDE out!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Net Neutrality NOW
Hello dear readers.
Yesterday I wrote a this week's post and planned to proof-read and post it this morning. But then I learned that the deadline for Net Neutrality comments is only a few days away. We all have until Sept 15 to make our voices heard on this issue. So, today's post is dedicated to Net Neutrality and what you can do about it.
First of all, what is this whole issue? Rather than try to explain it to you, I'll allow those who have already done it brilliantly to do it for me.
Vi Hart Explains Net Neutrality
Hank vs Hank arguing Net Neutrality
John Oliver on Last Week Tonight
Are you worried yet?
So, what can you do about it? Tell congress how you feel about it.
The "official" place to comment online is here, but after about 10 seconds you'll probably give up. You have to figure out which proceeding to comment on and they don't (as far as I can figure out) give you any more information than the title of that proceeding. Oh, here's a nice helpful hint from the site: "If the proceeding you are looking for is not listed, you can go to ECFS and enter the proceeding number." You have the proceeding number memorized right? Of course, they they have very little incentive to make the comment procedure user friendly. Don't fret though, I did some digging and figured it out for you. You want to comment on proceeding 14-28 "Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet."
If that's still too much for you to deal with or if you need a pre-written form letter to help out, a few savvy folks have made it easier for you. Here are two places you can go submit a comment and they will make sure it ends up in the right place:
Battle for the Internet
The EFF
And, here's the comment I wrote on the FCC page on proceeding 14-28. Feel free to steal some/all of it for your comments:
"Maintaining the open internet is important to me because an an entrepreneur I am concerned about my ability to compete with well established companies who are able to pay for the "fast lane" service. Additionally, ISPs provide a service that is very similar to other common carriers and they should not be able to act as gatekeepers, deciding what content is delivered promptly to their customers. ISPs should be classified as common carriers in order to prevent them from discriminating against users or content creators, and allow the open internet that we all built together to continue to thrive."
We have 4 days left. Go forth and comment. Even better, make actual phone calls too. Then post about it on ALL your social media sites to spread the word.
TDE Out!
Yesterday I wrote a this week's post and planned to proof-read and post it this morning. But then I learned that the deadline for Net Neutrality comments is only a few days away. We all have until Sept 15 to make our voices heard on this issue. So, today's post is dedicated to Net Neutrality and what you can do about it.
First of all, what is this whole issue? Rather than try to explain it to you, I'll allow those who have already done it brilliantly to do it for me.
Vi Hart Explains Net Neutrality
Hank vs Hank arguing Net Neutrality
John Oliver on Last Week Tonight
Are you worried yet?
So, what can you do about it? Tell congress how you feel about it.
The "official" place to comment online is here, but after about 10 seconds you'll probably give up. You have to figure out which proceeding to comment on and they don't (as far as I can figure out) give you any more information than the title of that proceeding. Oh, here's a nice helpful hint from the site: "If the proceeding you are looking for is not listed, you can go to ECFS and enter the proceeding number." You have the proceeding number memorized right? Of course, they they have very little incentive to make the comment procedure user friendly. Don't fret though, I did some digging and figured it out for you. You want to comment on proceeding 14-28 "Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet."
If that's still too much for you to deal with or if you need a pre-written form letter to help out, a few savvy folks have made it easier for you. Here are two places you can go submit a comment and they will make sure it ends up in the right place:
Battle for the Internet
The EFF
And, here's the comment I wrote on the FCC page on proceeding 14-28. Feel free to steal some/all of it for your comments:
"Maintaining the open internet is important to me because an an entrepreneur I am concerned about my ability to compete with well established companies who are able to pay for the "fast lane" service. Additionally, ISPs provide a service that is very similar to other common carriers and they should not be able to act as gatekeepers, deciding what content is delivered promptly to their customers. ISPs should be classified as common carriers in order to prevent them from discriminating against users or content creators, and allow the open internet that we all built together to continue to thrive."
We have 4 days left. Go forth and comment. Even better, make actual phone calls too. Then post about it on ALL your social media sites to spread the word.
TDE Out!
Friday, September 5, 2014
Cat Ownership = Solved
Today I'm going to tackle a post that the ITH has been bugging me to do for a while now. I think he's pretty proud of us and wants to help the rest of the world win at cat ownership.
So, today I present to you our solutions to cat ownership.
Problem: Cleaning the kitty litter.
There are a lot of potential solutions to this. The pet stores are full of scoops and fancy "no-mess" litters. But, not matter what tools you have or how fancy your litter is, you still can't get around the fact that you have to scoop out the litter box. You could also spend ridiculous amounts of money on "self-cleaning" boxes. I'm sure some of them work well, but I've heard that they break too easily and often leave behind the smaller clumps.
Our Solution:
The rolling litter box.
We can't even really take credit for this one. The ITH's brother gifted him with one of these a while back. This is what we have. You roll the whole box over onto it's lid and all the clumps end up in a little drawer that pulls out. It works really well, has no moving parts, and only costs about $30-35. And yes, it did eventually break; the tabs that hold the top and bottom together broke, causing it to leak litter all over when we rolled it. But it lasted for multiple years and the cost is low enough that replacing it every so often isn't a huge expense. After using this litter box, I'll never go back to any other way.
There are also multiple problems of cat ownership that are related to odors.
Problem: Litter odor.
Even if you clean out your litter box daily, or even multiple times per day, there is still the problem of what to do with the waste you remove from the box. You could immediately take it out to the trash/dumpster, but that often isn't feasible. Inevitably you end up "storing" dirty litter until a time when it is convenient to take it out with the rest of the trash. We researched all sorts of options for how to store this. Some folks suggested using diaper bins that seal off each diaper (or litter dump) in plastic. These are expensive, large, and use lots of plastic. We looked for trash cans with a seal around the top that would contain the odor, but couldn't find anything that would truly seal it in. Eventually, we found the solution in the kitchen department.
Our solution: Oxo container.
So, today I present to you our solutions to cat ownership.
Problem: Cleaning the kitty litter.
There are a lot of potential solutions to this. The pet stores are full of scoops and fancy "no-mess" litters. But, not matter what tools you have or how fancy your litter is, you still can't get around the fact that you have to scoop out the litter box. You could also spend ridiculous amounts of money on "self-cleaning" boxes. I'm sure some of them work well, but I've heard that they break too easily and often leave behind the smaller clumps.
Our Solution:
The rolling litter box.
We can't even really take credit for this one. The ITH's brother gifted him with one of these a while back. This is what we have. You roll the whole box over onto it's lid and all the clumps end up in a little drawer that pulls out. It works really well, has no moving parts, and only costs about $30-35. And yes, it did eventually break; the tabs that hold the top and bottom together broke, causing it to leak litter all over when we rolled it. But it lasted for multiple years and the cost is low enough that replacing it every so often isn't a huge expense. After using this litter box, I'll never go back to any other way.
There are also multiple problems of cat ownership that are related to odors.
Problem: Litter odor.
Even if you clean out your litter box daily, or even multiple times per day, there is still the problem of what to do with the waste you remove from the box. You could immediately take it out to the trash/dumpster, but that often isn't feasible. Inevitably you end up "storing" dirty litter until a time when it is convenient to take it out with the rest of the trash. We researched all sorts of options for how to store this. Some folks suggested using diaper bins that seal off each diaper (or litter dump) in plastic. These are expensive, large, and use lots of plastic. We looked for trash cans with a seal around the top that would contain the odor, but couldn't find anything that would truly seal it in. Eventually, we found the solution in the kitchen department.
Our solution: Oxo container.
I'm pretty sure we have this one. It costs about $20 and has lasted 3 years so far and it's going strong. It would be nice if it were a little bigger and may not be big enough for anyone with more than one cat. However, it works great of us. It tends to fill up every few days which, conveniently, is also about how often the trash has to be taken to the dumpster. So, when it's full, it gets dumped into the trash can and taken out to the dumpster.
Problem: Cat food can odor in the recycling bin.
When I first met the ITH, I quickly encountered an anomaly. He was fairly strict about recycling (one of the reasons I liked him so much) but he threw cat food cans into the trash can. When I asked about this, he explained that he he tried recycling them, but they messed up and stunk up the recycling bin. So, for a while we continued to trash them and continued to feel a little guilty about it. Recently, we solved this problem by reusing another cat-maintenance waste product.
The empty kitty litter tub seals well enough that we don't smell anything (well, except when we open it up to add new empty cans.) The sign was for when we had friends cat-sitting while we were gone, but I kinda like it, so we left it there.
So there you have it. 3 simple and affordable solutions to some of the most frustrating cat ownership problems. If you have a cat ownership win to share, post it in the comments!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Shaving and Face Wash
This post might be a little disappointing to you all. It's a bit less conclusive than I'd like it to be. But, it leads to more experiments, so thats exciting. :)
Shaving:
I thought I had this one solved for a while there.
At the beginning of the experiment when I was still using my bar soap, I used the bar soap for shaving as well. After I decided to try totally soap-free I started using straight coconut oil to shave.
Shaving with coconut oil is fabulous, but ultimately not the solution.
PROS:
1) Great shave, gets really close without any bumps or razor burn.
2) Moisturizing - legs feel amazing after shaving.
3) Doesn't rinse off so you don't have to worry about staying out of the water while shaving. I thought there would be an issue because it's clear and therefore might be hard to see where you've already shaved, but that wasn't the case. I very quickly learned to see the difference in the shininess and in how water beads on the pre vs post shaved areas using coconut oil.
CONS:
1) Not water soluble so it can leave a residue behind that makes the tub/shower quite slippery. Also, the tiny hairs get trapped in this residue making it dark in color which leads towards a dirty-looking shower rather quickly.
2) Gunks up the razor a bit, but washes off in warm water fairly easily.
3) Suspected (though not confirmed) to mix with hair and plug up the shower drain. We've had problems with our shower drain since we moved in. Our handyman has had to snake it 4 or so times in the past year. Usually we get a few months in between issues. This last time (while using the coconut oil) it clogged up again only a few weeks after the last snake.
So, due to the slippery tub and possible drain clogging I stopped using coconut oil to shave.
A reader suggested using just water to shave so I decided to try it. I was hesitant at first, but in the name of science I risked it.
Results:
For armpits and pubic line this actually seems to work just fine. It's a little more challenging and I'd prefer to have some sort of lubricant present, but just water does work.
For my legs it was less successful. It left them feeling dry and itchy almost immediately after getting out of the shower. I solved this by using coconut oil as a post-shave moisturizer, but it's not as nice as using the coconut oil as a shaving lubricant. I also tend to miss hairs as it's hard to keep track of exactly where I've shaved and haven't shaved.* And in general, I think it just doesn't shave as closely. I miss the soft and totally smooth results I had when using coconut oil.
*Note: My leg hair is a bit lighter than my head hair and therefore pretty hard to see. This is great when I go long stretches of time without shaving in the winter because I don't look hairy. This creates the challenge of needing to somehow keep track of exactly where I have already shaved when shaving. Using soap or shaving cream or even coconut oil solves this problem nicely. Using water alone made this a challenge.
Next steps:
I'm hoping to implement a different oil or combination of oils. My thought is that an oil that is liquid at room temp might be less likely to leave a residue and/or clog the drain. There is actually quite a bit out there about shaving with oils. Much of it is men, but there are some out there about women shaving their legs, like this one.
Here is a link to a good discussion/experiment.
I like the idea of using only food oils so that excess can be used in cooking rather than just going bad before I can use it up. I'm also wondering why everyone thinks they need a mixture of oils for shaving. The guy in this article makes it seem like any one of the oils alone does a pretty good job so why mix them together? In order to better understand, I'm going to do my own experiment.
I plan to shave at least a few times with different oils and then try a few mixtures of oils and see if the mixtures are truly better or not. If straight olive oil works, then why spend the extra money on almond and avocado oil? Results coming soon, though this will take a few weeks.
Face Wash:
This is not my best experiment. I wasn't super consistent in what I did for my face. It's pretty bad science. At first I was using bar soap and that seemed to be OK. After I ditched the soap, I tried using coconut oil on my face and that just left me super duper greasy. I tried using no products for a while, but not really long enough. I tried a mixture of coconut oil and baking soda which wasn't much different than straight coconut oil. I spent a week tap dancing all day long in a small non-air-conditioned studio (yes, it was rather sweaty!) and used nothing but water and an exfoliating pad that was probably too abrasive for my face. Finally, I did go for about a month with nothing but water and washcloth. Ultimately, what I've learned is that I DO need to use something other than water to clean my face. I didn't break out with lots of acne, but the few giant red painful zits demand treatment of some sort.
There are lots of sites out there for making your own face wash. Yogurt, cucumber, milk, avocado, honey etc etc etc are all suggested. I decided that I want to avoid anything with a shelf life. I don't want to have to be mixing up new face soap every few days and I don't want to have to be sure to keep special produce on hand just for my face. So, what I am trying right now is baking soda and water. My concern is that it will be too harsh, but so far so good. I put a small amount of baking soda in my hand. Not even an eighth of a teaspoon, a VERY small amount. Then I get some water in the other hand, rub them together, scrub my face with my hands, and then rinse it off quickly and thoroughly. I do this once a day and use water only if I wash my face more than once in a day. I've only been doing this for a few days now so I don't have any results to share yet.
Do you have suggestions for face wash or shaving oil? Share in the comments!
Shaving:
I thought I had this one solved for a while there.
At the beginning of the experiment when I was still using my bar soap, I used the bar soap for shaving as well. After I decided to try totally soap-free I started using straight coconut oil to shave.
Shaving with coconut oil is fabulous, but ultimately not the solution.
PROS:
1) Great shave, gets really close without any bumps or razor burn.
2) Moisturizing - legs feel amazing after shaving.
3) Doesn't rinse off so you don't have to worry about staying out of the water while shaving. I thought there would be an issue because it's clear and therefore might be hard to see where you've already shaved, but that wasn't the case. I very quickly learned to see the difference in the shininess and in how water beads on the pre vs post shaved areas using coconut oil.
CONS:
1) Not water soluble so it can leave a residue behind that makes the tub/shower quite slippery. Also, the tiny hairs get trapped in this residue making it dark in color which leads towards a dirty-looking shower rather quickly.
2) Gunks up the razor a bit, but washes off in warm water fairly easily.
3) Suspected (though not confirmed) to mix with hair and plug up the shower drain. We've had problems with our shower drain since we moved in. Our handyman has had to snake it 4 or so times in the past year. Usually we get a few months in between issues. This last time (while using the coconut oil) it clogged up again only a few weeks after the last snake.
So, due to the slippery tub and possible drain clogging I stopped using coconut oil to shave.
A reader suggested using just water to shave so I decided to try it. I was hesitant at first, but in the name of science I risked it.
Results:
For armpits and pubic line this actually seems to work just fine. It's a little more challenging and I'd prefer to have some sort of lubricant present, but just water does work.
For my legs it was less successful. It left them feeling dry and itchy almost immediately after getting out of the shower. I solved this by using coconut oil as a post-shave moisturizer, but it's not as nice as using the coconut oil as a shaving lubricant. I also tend to miss hairs as it's hard to keep track of exactly where I've shaved and haven't shaved.* And in general, I think it just doesn't shave as closely. I miss the soft and totally smooth results I had when using coconut oil.
*Note: My leg hair is a bit lighter than my head hair and therefore pretty hard to see. This is great when I go long stretches of time without shaving in the winter because I don't look hairy. This creates the challenge of needing to somehow keep track of exactly where I have already shaved when shaving. Using soap or shaving cream or even coconut oil solves this problem nicely. Using water alone made this a challenge.
Next steps:
I'm hoping to implement a different oil or combination of oils. My thought is that an oil that is liquid at room temp might be less likely to leave a residue and/or clog the drain. There is actually quite a bit out there about shaving with oils. Much of it is men, but there are some out there about women shaving their legs, like this one.
Here is a link to a good discussion/experiment.
I like the idea of using only food oils so that excess can be used in cooking rather than just going bad before I can use it up. I'm also wondering why everyone thinks they need a mixture of oils for shaving. The guy in this article makes it seem like any one of the oils alone does a pretty good job so why mix them together? In order to better understand, I'm going to do my own experiment.
I plan to shave at least a few times with different oils and then try a few mixtures of oils and see if the mixtures are truly better or not. If straight olive oil works, then why spend the extra money on almond and avocado oil? Results coming soon, though this will take a few weeks.
Face Wash:
This is not my best experiment. I wasn't super consistent in what I did for my face. It's pretty bad science. At first I was using bar soap and that seemed to be OK. After I ditched the soap, I tried using coconut oil on my face and that just left me super duper greasy. I tried using no products for a while, but not really long enough. I tried a mixture of coconut oil and baking soda which wasn't much different than straight coconut oil. I spent a week tap dancing all day long in a small non-air-conditioned studio (yes, it was rather sweaty!) and used nothing but water and an exfoliating pad that was probably too abrasive for my face. Finally, I did go for about a month with nothing but water and washcloth. Ultimately, what I've learned is that I DO need to use something other than water to clean my face. I didn't break out with lots of acne, but the few giant red painful zits demand treatment of some sort.
There are lots of sites out there for making your own face wash. Yogurt, cucumber, milk, avocado, honey etc etc etc are all suggested. I decided that I want to avoid anything with a shelf life. I don't want to have to be mixing up new face soap every few days and I don't want to have to be sure to keep special produce on hand just for my face. So, what I am trying right now is baking soda and water. My concern is that it will be too harsh, but so far so good. I put a small amount of baking soda in my hand. Not even an eighth of a teaspoon, a VERY small amount. Then I get some water in the other hand, rub them together, scrub my face with my hands, and then rinse it off quickly and thoroughly. I do this once a day and use water only if I wash my face more than once in a day. I've only been doing this for a few days now so I don't have any results to share yet.
Do you have suggestions for face wash or shaving oil? Share in the comments!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Minimal Hygiene Results Part 1
OK, it's time for some results of my hygiene experiments. Today I'll cover my hair routine and body soap. Here we go!
HAIR:
Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar
I found lots of sties out there suggesting baking soda "shampoo" and apple cider vinegar "conditioner." There were lots of different recipes for dilution ratios. What seems to be working well for me is the following:
Shampoo: 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of water.
I keep one of those little 8 oz water bottles in the shower. When I need to wash my hair I put a tablespoon of baking soda in the bottle and then fill it with water in the shower. I started with 2 tablespoons baking soda in 1 cup of water but that seemed too strong.
Conditioner: 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to 2 cups of solution.
I have an old empty apple cider vinegar bottle that is 16 oz. I was going for 2 tablespoons vinegar per cup of water which would have put the total volume of the solution at 2 and 1/4 cups and made it too large for my bottle. So, I did the math and came up with 3.5 tablespoons to make a 2 cup solution (so that it would fit in my bottle.) However, that still seemed a little too strong as on hair-washing day I can smell vinegar until my hair is dry. So, now I put 3 tablespoons of vinegar into the bottle and then I fill it up with water. I use about a quarter of the bottle of solution every time I wash my hair.
Here's the reaction I wrote after the first trial:
"Amazing. 1 month of grease and grime are gone after one application. My hair is soft and silky and no tangles or "hair spray" feel. If anything, I think it worked too well and I'm a little sad about having stripped off so much of the natural oils. I'm going to try a weaker solution (1 Tbsp baking powder per cup of water) the next time I shampoo and may end up reducing the concentration even more depending on those results. I'm also going to use this as infrequently as possible. Hopefully only once a week."
So far, I'm staying with 1 tablespoon baking soda per cup, but I may play with reducing the strength even more. Right now I'm washing my hair about once a week. It doesn't even occur to me to wash it until day 4 or so because it feels so nice an clean for the first 3 days. Right now I'm at 1 week and it really doesn't feel or look dirty. Here's some proof. I last washed my hair 1 week go:
If I continue with this routine, that means my annual use of product will be:
1) 52 tablespoons of baking soda which is about 3.25 cups. I'm pretty sure this amount of baking soda costs somewhere in the $1-$2 range.
2) 39 tablespoons of vinegar, or about 2.5 cups. This costs somewhere in the $3-$4 range.
So, my annual cost for hair products is under $10. WIN!
Issues:
1) Frizz. It's definitely worse than when I used a leave-in conditioner. I have pondered adding something to tame frizz, but I assume that will make me have to wash it more often. For now, I think I'm just OK with frizz. And, either it's getting better or I'm getting used to it because it doesn't seem as bad as a month ago. It does seem to be worst on the day I wash my hair though.
2) Cow lick. It is back with a vengeance. The last time I had this much trouble with it is barely in my memory. By the time I was old enough to worry about my hair it was basically tamed. The interesting thing is that it seems to be worst around day 4 and then it gets better after that. The first few days are fine and then all the sudden it's like "oh HAI!" Below is a pic of it.
This is on day 7 and, as I mentioned, I swear it was a little worse a few days ago. I can (and do) flip it to the other side of my head, but it doesn't always stay there or want to go that way either. It wants to go outward from my head. My solution so far has been to throw my hair into a ponytail when going out in public. It also helps to try to keep my hair as curly as possible because then the cow lick is less noticeable among all the curls. I may also end up just washing my hair a little more often and use the cow lick as a gauge for when it's time to wash my hair.
Going forward:
For now, I'm sticking with my new hair products. I like the simplicity of the ingredients and not having to wash my hair every day or every other day. I can deal with the frizz and I'll work to find a solution for that silly cow lick. Even if I end up washing twice a week, we're still talking an overall annual cost under $20. Still winning!
BODY SOAP:
Week 1: I didn't have the outer packaging of my body soap so I couldn't read ingredients. At some point I googled it and was surprised at how many seemingly unnecessary and harsh things were in it, as it's a "sensitive skin" bar. The ingredient list is shown here. Yikes. However, I continued to use it because I didn't have an alternative and because I know that those things aren't really as scary as they sound.
Day 22: I purchased this. Based on ingredients and cost it seemed like the best option that I could easily find for a bar soap alternative. I was going to use it the next day but decided to wait until vacation to open it so that it would be fully sealed up at least on the way there.
Day 25: Tried new soap bar. Really fragrant. Doesn't smell like almond or ginger to me at all. Smells like flowers. Too much like flowers. This is not the solution, but it's better than the other bar.
Day 34: Re-read portions of the article that inspired all this and saw this: "Antibacterial soaps are most likely the worst culprits, but even soaps made with only vegetable oils or animal fats strip the skin of AOB." So, even my "better" bar is probably killing my "good" bacteria colony. Drat.
Day 35: Did some more research and decided to try going absolutely soap-free for my body.
Week 11: It's now been over a month since I last used soap on my body. I have a scrubby guy that I use with just water. I feel clean. And believe me, there have been some days where I enter the shower really dirty. I've been digging in gardens and I'm a dancer. I get dirty, sweaty, and smelly on most days. Water and scrubbing seems to do the trick though. I don't smell when I get out of the shower.
Issues:
1) Because of the extremely mild summer we've had this year, I haven't had the opportunity to go swimming or do any other sun-heavy activity that would require slathering my whole body with gobs of sunscreen. So, I don't know for sure if water and scrubbing removes greasy/oily things like lots of sunscreen. So far it hasn't been an issue, but might be one in the future.
2) I definitely DO smell worse. Not day to day, but when I sweat. I also seem to sweat more easily or maybe just smell more from small amounts of sweat. Doing things around the house or even just sitting in a hot car while for a bit can cause me to notice my own BO. The odor seems to be only/mainly from my armpits. I refuse to start using deodorant again, but I need to find a solution for this.
3) Shaving. I still want to do that. If I don't use soap to shave, I need something else.
Conclusion: I see no reason/need for body soap in general. Water and some scrubbing gets me feeling just as clean as when I did use soap. I still use hand soap. I might go back to using soap on my pits to see if that helps the odor issue. I've solved the problem of what type of soap to use (just don't use any soap!) but it created another problem. What should I use to shave? We'll cover that next week.
One final note:
Overall, cutting out shampoo, conditioner, and soap means that I'm not adding any scents to my body and nothing is there to cover up my natural odors. Basically, I admit that I definitely smell more "human" than I used to. I don't see this as a bad thing though. Well.... except for the pits after I've been dancing. Yikes, THAT is a problem. Eventually I'll find the balance and solutions. I need to do more research and experimenting though.
TDE out!
HAIR:
Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar
I found lots of sties out there suggesting baking soda "shampoo" and apple cider vinegar "conditioner." There were lots of different recipes for dilution ratios. What seems to be working well for me is the following:
Shampoo: 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of water.
I keep one of those little 8 oz water bottles in the shower. When I need to wash my hair I put a tablespoon of baking soda in the bottle and then fill it with water in the shower. I started with 2 tablespoons baking soda in 1 cup of water but that seemed too strong.
Conditioner: 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to 2 cups of solution.
I have an old empty apple cider vinegar bottle that is 16 oz. I was going for 2 tablespoons vinegar per cup of water which would have put the total volume of the solution at 2 and 1/4 cups and made it too large for my bottle. So, I did the math and came up with 3.5 tablespoons to make a 2 cup solution (so that it would fit in my bottle.) However, that still seemed a little too strong as on hair-washing day I can smell vinegar until my hair is dry. So, now I put 3 tablespoons of vinegar into the bottle and then I fill it up with water. I use about a quarter of the bottle of solution every time I wash my hair.
Here's the reaction I wrote after the first trial:
"Amazing. 1 month of grease and grime are gone after one application. My hair is soft and silky and no tangles or "hair spray" feel. If anything, I think it worked too well and I'm a little sad about having stripped off so much of the natural oils. I'm going to try a weaker solution (1 Tbsp baking powder per cup of water) the next time I shampoo and may end up reducing the concentration even more depending on those results. I'm also going to use this as infrequently as possible. Hopefully only once a week."
So far, I'm staying with 1 tablespoon baking soda per cup, but I may play with reducing the strength even more. Right now I'm washing my hair about once a week. It doesn't even occur to me to wash it until day 4 or so because it feels so nice an clean for the first 3 days. Right now I'm at 1 week and it really doesn't feel or look dirty. Here's some proof. I last washed my hair 1 week go:
If I continue with this routine, that means my annual use of product will be:
1) 52 tablespoons of baking soda which is about 3.25 cups. I'm pretty sure this amount of baking soda costs somewhere in the $1-$2 range.
2) 39 tablespoons of vinegar, or about 2.5 cups. This costs somewhere in the $3-$4 range.
So, my annual cost for hair products is under $10. WIN!
Issues:
1) Frizz. It's definitely worse than when I used a leave-in conditioner. I have pondered adding something to tame frizz, but I assume that will make me have to wash it more often. For now, I think I'm just OK with frizz. And, either it's getting better or I'm getting used to it because it doesn't seem as bad as a month ago. It does seem to be worst on the day I wash my hair though.
2) Cow lick. It is back with a vengeance. The last time I had this much trouble with it is barely in my memory. By the time I was old enough to worry about my hair it was basically tamed. The interesting thing is that it seems to be worst around day 4 and then it gets better after that. The first few days are fine and then all the sudden it's like "oh HAI!" Below is a pic of it.
This is on day 7 and, as I mentioned, I swear it was a little worse a few days ago. I can (and do) flip it to the other side of my head, but it doesn't always stay there or want to go that way either. It wants to go outward from my head. My solution so far has been to throw my hair into a ponytail when going out in public. It also helps to try to keep my hair as curly as possible because then the cow lick is less noticeable among all the curls. I may also end up just washing my hair a little more often and use the cow lick as a gauge for when it's time to wash my hair.
Going forward:
For now, I'm sticking with my new hair products. I like the simplicity of the ingredients and not having to wash my hair every day or every other day. I can deal with the frizz and I'll work to find a solution for that silly cow lick. Even if I end up washing twice a week, we're still talking an overall annual cost under $20. Still winning!
BODY SOAP:
Week 1: I didn't have the outer packaging of my body soap so I couldn't read ingredients. At some point I googled it and was surprised at how many seemingly unnecessary and harsh things were in it, as it's a "sensitive skin" bar. The ingredient list is shown here. Yikes. However, I continued to use it because I didn't have an alternative and because I know that those things aren't really as scary as they sound.
Day 22: I purchased this. Based on ingredients and cost it seemed like the best option that I could easily find for a bar soap alternative. I was going to use it the next day but decided to wait until vacation to open it so that it would be fully sealed up at least on the way there.
Day 25: Tried new soap bar. Really fragrant. Doesn't smell like almond or ginger to me at all. Smells like flowers. Too much like flowers. This is not the solution, but it's better than the other bar.
Day 34: Re-read portions of the article that inspired all this and saw this: "Antibacterial soaps are most likely the worst culprits, but even soaps made with only vegetable oils or animal fats strip the skin of AOB." So, even my "better" bar is probably killing my "good" bacteria colony. Drat.
Day 35: Did some more research and decided to try going absolutely soap-free for my body.
Week 11: It's now been over a month since I last used soap on my body. I have a scrubby guy that I use with just water. I feel clean. And believe me, there have been some days where I enter the shower really dirty. I've been digging in gardens and I'm a dancer. I get dirty, sweaty, and smelly on most days. Water and scrubbing seems to do the trick though. I don't smell when I get out of the shower.
Issues:
1) Because of the extremely mild summer we've had this year, I haven't had the opportunity to go swimming or do any other sun-heavy activity that would require slathering my whole body with gobs of sunscreen. So, I don't know for sure if water and scrubbing removes greasy/oily things like lots of sunscreen. So far it hasn't been an issue, but might be one in the future.
2) I definitely DO smell worse. Not day to day, but when I sweat. I also seem to sweat more easily or maybe just smell more from small amounts of sweat. Doing things around the house or even just sitting in a hot car while for a bit can cause me to notice my own BO. The odor seems to be only/mainly from my armpits. I refuse to start using deodorant again, but I need to find a solution for this.
3) Shaving. I still want to do that. If I don't use soap to shave, I need something else.
Conclusion: I see no reason/need for body soap in general. Water and some scrubbing gets me feeling just as clean as when I did use soap. I still use hand soap. I might go back to using soap on my pits to see if that helps the odor issue. I've solved the problem of what type of soap to use (just don't use any soap!) but it created another problem. What should I use to shave? We'll cover that next week.
One final note:
Overall, cutting out shampoo, conditioner, and soap means that I'm not adding any scents to my body and nothing is there to cover up my natural odors. Basically, I admit that I definitely smell more "human" than I used to. I don't see this as a bad thing though. Well.... except for the pits after I've been dancing. Yikes, THAT is a problem. Eventually I'll find the balance and solutions. I need to do more research and experimenting though.
TDE out!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Face Your Fears
You all know the saying/advice to face your fears. I've always believed it to be fairly true. Recently, however, I experienced it in a new way.
Early in the growing season this year I was attempting to tackle the grasses and weeds that had taken over our garden beds. It was bad.
Early in the growing season this year I was attempting to tackle the grasses and weeds that had taken over our garden beds. It was bad.
If you look hard enough, you can see our tiny squash plants attempting to overcome the mess.
This day was also the day that I learned that you can get a "grass cut." Similar to a paper cut, but from pulling out grass. But, that was the lesser trauma of the day.
I was attempting to at least free the area right around the roots/stems of our plants from the grasses. One particular handful of grass pulled out a clump of soil with it. I shook off some of the dirt and threw the grass aside. Thats when I noticed what I had uncovered. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of teeny tiny spiders frantically crawling around. First reaction: EEK! Followed rather quickly by fascination. They were crawling all over the egg sack. They were so tiny that they must have hatched recently. The scientist in me couldn't help but think it was pretty darn cool that I accidentally unearthed them right after they hatched. I cautiously, and from a fairly safe distance, leaned over to get a better look. And thats when it happened.
The entire mass of egg sack and baby spiders literally got up and walked away. Turns out the egg sack was attached to the back of a GIGANTIC momma wolf spider. I hadn't noticed her at all as she blended in with the soil so well. She didn't move very far, but she was fast. And did I mention that she was HUGE. Holy freaking crap.
The picture is poor quality and really doesn't show the scale of the monstrosity, but here it is anyway.
I dare you to click on it!
OK, so why am I telling this story? First of all, it's a good story. But the main reason I'm sharing is what has happened over weeks since then:
- I have encountered numerous smallish spiders in my gardens. Lots of them. Various types.
- While staying in dorm-like accommodations, I entered my room, turned on the light, and caught a rather large centipede running away. It went under the bed.
- In the same dorm-like accommodations, I encountered a really large centipede in the kitchen sink.
- There have been a couple medium sized spiders and even one really large maybe-spider. It might have been a cricket, but I'm pretty sure it was a spider.
Any of those encounters would have previously freaked me out pretty badly. I'm not the sort to jump up on a chair and squeal or anything, but I would have backed away and struggled to finish my weeding. I certainly would have been pretty concerned about getting into a bed that a largish centipede may or may not be hiding under.
But, I didn't freak out. In all these cases I had some initial shock and dismay, followed by calm. In most cases I actually said aloud something like "oh, hi Spidey." Sure, I probably jumped a bit and backed away. But, then once Spidey moved away I went back to what I was doing. I calmly got into bed, not at all freaked about a centipede attacking me in my sleep. And every time this has happened, I thought back to that moment when giant momma wolf spider first moved. I survived that moment, and this one is nothing in comparison.
I've come to the conclusion that confronting your fears is definitely a good way to overcome them. However, it may be that having your fears confront you, especially unexpectedly, might work even better.
Friday, July 18, 2014
The TDE's Shampoo-Free Month
Hello Dear Readers,
Today I summarize my shampoo-free month! Here we go!
Day 0, I was planning shampoo and soap free, but found myself covered in sunscreen and remembering yesterday's conditioner that was still on my hair. I decided this would be my last day of "normal"showering and worked up the suds.
The sunscreen issue got me thinking. How do I go soap-free when there are waterproof things on my skin that I want to get off of me? Then another big concern occurred to me. I want to keep shaving my legs. How do I do that without product? So, I made the call that I would stop ALL hair products and stop using my face soap. I decided that I would continue to use my regular body bar soap until I was able to do additional research and go shopping for a replacement.
HAIR:
Day 1, no hair products. My hair was DRY. It felt like straw. It also dried really really quickly after my shower.
Day 2 and 3 were pretty similar to Day 1.
By Day 4, the grease started. This is significantly longer than I expected before feeling greasy and my explanation to myself is that I wasn't using conditioner and perhaps conditioner makes my hair get greasier faster. (I had previously noticed that, when using conditioner every day, I'd be greasy by day 2.)
At 1 week, things were pretty rough. I was self-conscious that my hair was oily and stinky, but I powered through. My plan was to go a month if possible and an absolute minimum of 2 weeks, which I had read was a typical "transition period." I started brushing a couple of times a day to "distribute" the grease better. At this point, my scalp was oily but my ends still felt like straw.
Days 10 and 11 were the worst. My "Cow-Lick" would not calm down and my hair just looked yucky. The positive was that my straw-hair was gone even at the ends. I really REALLY wanted to put just a tiny bit of shampoo on only my scalp, but I told myself I had to make it to 2 weeks so I didn't give in.
Day 12 was the turn around and by 2 weeks in, my hair just figured it out. No more massive oil. It looks like it did before I started all this. It's kinda unbelievable, but it's true.
Day 17: I'm feeling great and thinking that I'm never going back to shampoo.
Week 3 was generally good. Grease started to build up a little bit, but I'm still amazed at how well this is working.
Week 4: Now I'm less sure about this whole shampoo-free forever thing. I'm still generally fine with the results and I don't feel dirty. However the oil in my hair is making it kinda stiff and unmanageable. It feels and acts as if I had some hair spray in it. I can't run my fingers through it. When I take down a pony tail it doesn't fall down completely. The "cow lick" is also acting up again.
1 Month: Suddenly, I notice some odor. I wonder if it has to do with my hormonal cycle. I see no other explanation for why I made it through 31 days without noticing odor and on Day 32 my hair suddenly smells dirty.
I finally fessed up to the ITH on day 32. He took it in stride but didn't know that I'd been doing it. He did make this encouraging comment:
ITH: I noticed the other day when I kissed your head.....
TDE: Do I smell bad?
ITH: No, I just noticed that I didn't smell anything (meaning I don't smell like my normal hair products.)
TDE: But I don't smell bad?
ITH: No.
Success!
But then, that very same day (Day 32) is the day I first noticed myself smelling (which is why I assumed he was going to say that I smelled bad.) I showered right before bed that night and went to bed with wet hair. When the ITH came to bed after I'd been struggling to get into a deep sleep I snuggled up to him and finally fell asleep. The next morning:
TDE: Last night when you came to bed I snuggled up to you and finally fell asleep. It was good.
ITH: Yeah, but your hair was wet and on me and smelled bad.
Sooooo, did I really suddenly smell bad to him too, or was it just that he now had the knowledge that I had not shampooed in a month? I suppose we can never know for sure, but based on my own olfactory judgement, I think my hair really did suddenly start smelling dirty. Strange.
Summary:
I made it through a whole month and then decided that my hair needed to be washed. However, I didn't use traditional shampoo. I went to the internet for alternatives, but that's what I'll discuss next week.
Overall, I also noticed that I can easily shower ever other day. I did that on both vacations with no ill effects. I didn't feel dirty. I didn't smell bad. Also, traveling just got easier, I've freed up a few bucks in the budget, and my showers are a bit faster. So far so good.
PS: I am now about 2 weeks into my totally soap-free shower experiment. It seems to be working. I just packed for a trip (a week of tap dancing all day every day) and brought bar soap just in case as it is definitely going to be a sweaty week. I didn't pack shampoo though. :)
Today I summarize my shampoo-free month! Here we go!
Day 0, I was planning shampoo and soap free, but found myself covered in sunscreen and remembering yesterday's conditioner that was still on my hair. I decided this would be my last day of "normal"showering and worked up the suds.
The sunscreen issue got me thinking. How do I go soap-free when there are waterproof things on my skin that I want to get off of me? Then another big concern occurred to me. I want to keep shaving my legs. How do I do that without product? So, I made the call that I would stop ALL hair products and stop using my face soap. I decided that I would continue to use my regular body bar soap until I was able to do additional research and go shopping for a replacement.
HAIR:
Day 1, no hair products. My hair was DRY. It felt like straw. It also dried really really quickly after my shower.
Day 2 and 3 were pretty similar to Day 1.
By Day 4, the grease started. This is significantly longer than I expected before feeling greasy and my explanation to myself is that I wasn't using conditioner and perhaps conditioner makes my hair get greasier faster. (I had previously noticed that, when using conditioner every day, I'd be greasy by day 2.)
At 1 week, things were pretty rough. I was self-conscious that my hair was oily and stinky, but I powered through. My plan was to go a month if possible and an absolute minimum of 2 weeks, which I had read was a typical "transition period." I started brushing a couple of times a day to "distribute" the grease better. At this point, my scalp was oily but my ends still felt like straw.
Days 10 and 11 were the worst. My "Cow-Lick" would not calm down and my hair just looked yucky. The positive was that my straw-hair was gone even at the ends. I really REALLY wanted to put just a tiny bit of shampoo on only my scalp, but I told myself I had to make it to 2 weeks so I didn't give in.
Day 12 was the turn around and by 2 weeks in, my hair just figured it out. No more massive oil. It looks like it did before I started all this. It's kinda unbelievable, but it's true.
Day 17: I'm feeling great and thinking that I'm never going back to shampoo.
Week 3 was generally good. Grease started to build up a little bit, but I'm still amazed at how well this is working.
Week 4: Now I'm less sure about this whole shampoo-free forever thing. I'm still generally fine with the results and I don't feel dirty. However the oil in my hair is making it kinda stiff and unmanageable. It feels and acts as if I had some hair spray in it. I can't run my fingers through it. When I take down a pony tail it doesn't fall down completely. The "cow lick" is also acting up again.
1 Month: Suddenly, I notice some odor. I wonder if it has to do with my hormonal cycle. I see no other explanation for why I made it through 31 days without noticing odor and on Day 32 my hair suddenly smells dirty.
I finally fessed up to the ITH on day 32. He took it in stride but didn't know that I'd been doing it. He did make this encouraging comment:
ITH: I noticed the other day when I kissed your head.....
TDE: Do I smell bad?
ITH: No, I just noticed that I didn't smell anything (meaning I don't smell like my normal hair products.)
TDE: But I don't smell bad?
ITH: No.
Success!
But then, that very same day (Day 32) is the day I first noticed myself smelling (which is why I assumed he was going to say that I smelled bad.) I showered right before bed that night and went to bed with wet hair. When the ITH came to bed after I'd been struggling to get into a deep sleep I snuggled up to him and finally fell asleep. The next morning:
TDE: Last night when you came to bed I snuggled up to you and finally fell asleep. It was good.
ITH: Yeah, but your hair was wet and on me and smelled bad.
Sooooo, did I really suddenly smell bad to him too, or was it just that he now had the knowledge that I had not shampooed in a month? I suppose we can never know for sure, but based on my own olfactory judgement, I think my hair really did suddenly start smelling dirty. Strange.
Summary:
I made it through a whole month and then decided that my hair needed to be washed. However, I didn't use traditional shampoo. I went to the internet for alternatives, but that's what I'll discuss next week.
Overall, I also noticed that I can easily shower ever other day. I did that on both vacations with no ill effects. I didn't feel dirty. I didn't smell bad. Also, traveling just got easier, I've freed up a few bucks in the budget, and my showers are a bit faster. So far so good.
PS: I am now about 2 weeks into my totally soap-free shower experiment. It seems to be working. I just packed for a trip (a week of tap dancing all day every day) and brought bar soap just in case as it is definitely going to be a sweaty week. I didn't pack shampoo though. :)
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Why I Ditched Face Wash
A quick side tangent this week and then we'll get into the results of my shampoo-free month next week.
As I mentioned last week, this article inspired me to ditch many of my hygiene products, including my face soap. I was planning to go cold turkey on everything, but for reasons discussed last week, kept my bar soap as my one and only shower product for a whole month. On "Day 0" of the adventure I also happened to see someone post something about the plastic microbeads in face wash contaminating our water and affecting aquatic wildlife. I wasn't sure if my face wash had plastic microbeads or something more natural, but I was already planning to ditch soap entirely anyway so it was an easy decision to at least eliminate my face wash along with my shampoo and conditioner, keeping only the bar soap.
Other reasons I decided to without face wash:
The Practical:
1) Why use something if I don't need it?
2) That New York Times article linked above states that the author's acne IMPROVED when she ditched all her products. Improved acne by getting rid of a product sounds pretty good to me.
3) The possibility of saving money by no longer buying face wash.
4) We did lots of traveling last month. Fewer hygiene items to pack!
The Environmental:
I read the ingredient list on my face wash. Yikes! I'm a chemistry nerd so I understand that all those scary-sounding chemical names are not as scary as they sound. However, do I really need all that crap in my face wash? No.
All those chemicals also get washed down the drain and sent into our water systems (along with those plastic microbeads.) I don't KNOW that the chemicals cause problems, but I prefer to contribute as little as possible to this sort of thing.
Side note: This is also where I learned the face wash I was using DOES contain plastic microbeads. Want to know if yours does too? Check this list.
The Scientific:
SCIENCE! Experimentation! Gaining knowledge first hand rather than just believing what I read. I'm a scientist and I'm prepared to have my face break out in the worst acne of my adult life just to know for SURE if I need to use face wash or special face soap or not.
The results:
What I decided to do was to use body soap on my face in the shower and to use just warm water and a washcloth any other time I needed to wash my face. I usually wash my face first thing in the morning and right before bed, meaning I'd now wash once in the shower with body bar soap and once with just water and washcloth. And, I actually ended up washing with soap less frequently than planned as I didn't take a shower every day.
So what happened? Not much. The first day felt extra oily and I washed my face (with just water) a few extra times. I didn't break out. Almost no change at all.
Really. Try it.
Next steps, soap free. I'm currently about 5 days into a totally soap-free experiment. Results summary coming soon.
Humans survived for a long time we created specialized face wash and fancy shampoos. I now walk down the personal care product aisles with a new perspective. Here are many many things that you can buy that you don't need. We've just been convinced that we need them. I could go all conspiracy theory on you and say that the companies make products that are too harsh on purpose so that you have to keep using them to battle ever-increasing oil production of your skin which is only trying to combat the harshness of the products you use. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me too much to learn that there's some truth there, but instead I'll just give you this more reasonable perspective on the whole thing.
I'm not saying everyone should stop showering or stop using all their products. But, it's definitely worth taking some time to question your daily routine and experiment to see what you can eliminate or reduce. Save money, improve your skin, and keep plastic microbeads out of the waterways.
As I mentioned last week, this article inspired me to ditch many of my hygiene products, including my face soap. I was planning to go cold turkey on everything, but for reasons discussed last week, kept my bar soap as my one and only shower product for a whole month. On "Day 0" of the adventure I also happened to see someone post something about the plastic microbeads in face wash contaminating our water and affecting aquatic wildlife. I wasn't sure if my face wash had plastic microbeads or something more natural, but I was already planning to ditch soap entirely anyway so it was an easy decision to at least eliminate my face wash along with my shampoo and conditioner, keeping only the bar soap.
Other reasons I decided to without face wash:
The Practical:
1) Why use something if I don't need it?
2) That New York Times article linked above states that the author's acne IMPROVED when she ditched all her products. Improved acne by getting rid of a product sounds pretty good to me.
3) The possibility of saving money by no longer buying face wash.
4) We did lots of traveling last month. Fewer hygiene items to pack!
The Environmental:
I read the ingredient list on my face wash. Yikes! I'm a chemistry nerd so I understand that all those scary-sounding chemical names are not as scary as they sound. However, do I really need all that crap in my face wash? No.
All those chemicals also get washed down the drain and sent into our water systems (along with those plastic microbeads.) I don't KNOW that the chemicals cause problems, but I prefer to contribute as little as possible to this sort of thing.
Side note: This is also where I learned the face wash I was using DOES contain plastic microbeads. Want to know if yours does too? Check this list.
The Scientific:
SCIENCE! Experimentation! Gaining knowledge first hand rather than just believing what I read. I'm a scientist and I'm prepared to have my face break out in the worst acne of my adult life just to know for SURE if I need to use face wash or special face soap or not.
The results:
What I decided to do was to use body soap on my face in the shower and to use just warm water and a washcloth any other time I needed to wash my face. I usually wash my face first thing in the morning and right before bed, meaning I'd now wash once in the shower with body bar soap and once with just water and washcloth. And, I actually ended up washing with soap less frequently than planned as I didn't take a shower every day.
So what happened? Not much. The first day felt extra oily and I washed my face (with just water) a few extra times. I didn't break out. Almost no change at all.
Really. Try it.
Next steps, soap free. I'm currently about 5 days into a totally soap-free experiment. Results summary coming soon.
Humans survived for a long time we created specialized face wash and fancy shampoos. I now walk down the personal care product aisles with a new perspective. Here are many many things that you can buy that you don't need. We've just been convinced that we need them. I could go all conspiracy theory on you and say that the companies make products that are too harsh on purpose so that you have to keep using them to battle ever-increasing oil production of your skin which is only trying to combat the harshness of the products you use. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me too much to learn that there's some truth there, but instead I'll just give you this more reasonable perspective on the whole thing.
I'm not saying everyone should stop showering or stop using all their products. But, it's definitely worth taking some time to question your daily routine and experiment to see what you can eliminate or reduce. Save money, improve your skin, and keep plastic microbeads out of the waterways.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Shampoo Experiment - Extension
I washed my hair last night. It was the first time I put anything on my hair in a month.
Yes, for a whole month, the only thing I put on my hair was water. Really.
This is going to be a series of posts because I want to document not only my procedure and results, but also my thought process.
Today: How this all started (Background)
Technically, this all started YEARS ago when a hairstylist told me that I shouldn't shampoo every day. She recommended once a week. I tried skipping days and found that shampooing every other day worked for me. Sometimes I would skip another day, but I'd usually have greasy hair if I did. This same hairstylist explained how sulfates are really bad for your hair. You'll now see lots of shampoo bottles that say "sulfate free." My favorite are the ones that say "no sodium lauryl sulfate" which is true, but they contain various other sulfates or even just some other lauryl sulfate instead. Nice try, but I understand chemistry!
I started using sulfate-free shampoo. It was hard to find and expensive back then. The breakthrough was when I found this. Apparently someone is making a killing re-selling that stuff. I was just at a Trader Joe's last week, and it's only $3 a bottle in the store. Win! Somewhere along the way, having cheap sulfate-free shampoo lead to shampooing every day again. I'm not entirely sure why. The best reason I can come up with is that it meant that I didn't have to remember if I shampooed the previous day or not. The daily shower is something you shouldn't really have to think about after all.
Then, fast forward a few years to the shampoo experiment. This did 2 things. First, it reminded me that I don't need to shampoo every day. Every other day works just fine for me. Second, it introduced me to the concept of "no-poo" and that there are lots of people out there who shun shampoo to various degrees. Many people are in the "once a week" crowd but some don't shampoo at all... ever... So, after the shampoo experiment, I was back to every other day and sometimes every third day. But again, skipping 2 full days between shampoo days definitely lead to greasy hair. Therefore, I was generally on an every other day schedule. Yet somewhere in the back of my head was this thought that maybe I don't need shampoo at ALL. It sounds crazy but lots of people do it. Just Google it.
Then, this New York Times article came out. I was intrigued. It makes some sense. And while the author's experience wasn't entirely positive, it still seemed oddly appealing to me. It at least got me researching the concept more. What did I find? I found people who hadn't used shampoo OR soap for YEARS. Like this guy. There are a few others, but almost everything I found was men. I knew there were plenty of ladies out there that were at least shampoo-free though. The more I learned the more I thought that I just had to at least try it out (save money, easier travel, better for me and my hair? sold!) And, one of the reasons I'm documenting this whole thing is to add another female voice to this story.
I was planning to ditch soap and all my hair products and go cold turkey on everything, but on what was going to be "Day 1" of this adventure I found myself covered in sunscreen (how do I get that off without soap?) and then realized that the previous day's conditioner that was still on my hair. I wanted to go completely product-free and therefore needed to wash off the conditioner with shampoo. Next, I had the realization that I would need to use something in addition to water to shave my legs and that I definitely wanted to keep doing that. So, I decided that it would be my last day of shampoo, becoming "Day 0" and that I'd keep using my bar soap until I had done more research and figured out an alternative.
I told myself I would to go a whole month without ANY hair product. No shampoo, no conditioner, no leave-in conditioner, no sprays, nothing but water. I also told myself that I absolutely HAD to make it past the 2 week mark which I read is generally the "transition period." I also decided to go cold turkey on my face soap along with shampoo. There are a lot of reasons for this decision and I'll discuss them next week.
So for a whole month I used my bar soap and no other body hygiene products.* I still use toothpaste. I also still wash my hands (with soap) after using the bathroom and before preparing food. Oh, and while I did wash my hair last night, I didn't use traditional shampoo or conditioner (more on that later.)
*Note 1: The TDE has been deodorant-free for a couple of years now. That stuff is bad for you and you don't need it. OK, technically it's the antiperspirant that is really bad for you. Deodorant (without antiperspirant) is OK, but you don't need it. Again, there's a "transition period" but I promise your body will adjust. I mean, I tap dance a LOT and I don't need it. In fact, not long ago I put some on for just one day as I was expecting a long and sweaty day, and then cursed myself for three or four days afterwards as my body over-produced sweat in a sort of "rebound" reaction. I must thank the ITH for initially converting me to the no-deodorant club with his simple statement of "I don't use it. Do I smell bad?"
I didn't tell anyone I was ditching shampoo, not even the ITH. I wanted to see if anyone would say something about my hair looking dirty or smelling bad or anything. I went on vacation with my the ITH's family (who probably wouldn't have said anything if they did notice) and then with my family (who definitely would have said something if it was really bad AND experienced week 4 of this experiment.) And yes, the ITH tells me when I smell bad.
What was it like to ditch most of my hygiene products for a whole month? Did anyone comment on my hair during the process? You'll just have to come back later to find out!
Yes, for a whole month, the only thing I put on my hair was water. Really.
This is going to be a series of posts because I want to document not only my procedure and results, but also my thought process.
Today: How this all started (Background)
Technically, this all started YEARS ago when a hairstylist told me that I shouldn't shampoo every day. She recommended once a week. I tried skipping days and found that shampooing every other day worked for me. Sometimes I would skip another day, but I'd usually have greasy hair if I did. This same hairstylist explained how sulfates are really bad for your hair. You'll now see lots of shampoo bottles that say "sulfate free." My favorite are the ones that say "no sodium lauryl sulfate" which is true, but they contain various other sulfates or even just some other lauryl sulfate instead. Nice try, but I understand chemistry!
I started using sulfate-free shampoo. It was hard to find and expensive back then. The breakthrough was when I found this. Apparently someone is making a killing re-selling that stuff. I was just at a Trader Joe's last week, and it's only $3 a bottle in the store. Win! Somewhere along the way, having cheap sulfate-free shampoo lead to shampooing every day again. I'm not entirely sure why. The best reason I can come up with is that it meant that I didn't have to remember if I shampooed the previous day or not. The daily shower is something you shouldn't really have to think about after all.
Then, fast forward a few years to the shampoo experiment. This did 2 things. First, it reminded me that I don't need to shampoo every day. Every other day works just fine for me. Second, it introduced me to the concept of "no-poo" and that there are lots of people out there who shun shampoo to various degrees. Many people are in the "once a week" crowd but some don't shampoo at all... ever... So, after the shampoo experiment, I was back to every other day and sometimes every third day. But again, skipping 2 full days between shampoo days definitely lead to greasy hair. Therefore, I was generally on an every other day schedule. Yet somewhere in the back of my head was this thought that maybe I don't need shampoo at ALL. It sounds crazy but lots of people do it. Just Google it.
Then, this New York Times article came out. I was intrigued. It makes some sense. And while the author's experience wasn't entirely positive, it still seemed oddly appealing to me. It at least got me researching the concept more. What did I find? I found people who hadn't used shampoo OR soap for YEARS. Like this guy. There are a few others, but almost everything I found was men. I knew there were plenty of ladies out there that were at least shampoo-free though. The more I learned the more I thought that I just had to at least try it out (save money, easier travel, better for me and my hair? sold!) And, one of the reasons I'm documenting this whole thing is to add another female voice to this story.
I was planning to ditch soap and all my hair products and go cold turkey on everything, but on what was going to be "Day 1" of this adventure I found myself covered in sunscreen (how do I get that off without soap?) and then realized that the previous day's conditioner that was still on my hair. I wanted to go completely product-free and therefore needed to wash off the conditioner with shampoo. Next, I had the realization that I would need to use something in addition to water to shave my legs and that I definitely wanted to keep doing that. So, I decided that it would be my last day of shampoo, becoming "Day 0" and that I'd keep using my bar soap until I had done more research and figured out an alternative.
I told myself I would to go a whole month without ANY hair product. No shampoo, no conditioner, no leave-in conditioner, no sprays, nothing but water. I also told myself that I absolutely HAD to make it past the 2 week mark which I read is generally the "transition period." I also decided to go cold turkey on my face soap along with shampoo. There are a lot of reasons for this decision and I'll discuss them next week.
So for a whole month I used my bar soap and no other body hygiene products.* I still use toothpaste. I also still wash my hands (with soap) after using the bathroom and before preparing food. Oh, and while I did wash my hair last night, I didn't use traditional shampoo or conditioner (more on that later.)
*Note 1: The TDE has been deodorant-free for a couple of years now. That stuff is bad for you and you don't need it. OK, technically it's the antiperspirant that is really bad for you. Deodorant (without antiperspirant) is OK, but you don't need it. Again, there's a "transition period" but I promise your body will adjust. I mean, I tap dance a LOT and I don't need it. In fact, not long ago I put some on for just one day as I was expecting a long and sweaty day, and then cursed myself for three or four days afterwards as my body over-produced sweat in a sort of "rebound" reaction. I must thank the ITH for initially converting me to the no-deodorant club with his simple statement of "I don't use it. Do I smell bad?"
I didn't tell anyone I was ditching shampoo, not even the ITH. I wanted to see if anyone would say something about my hair looking dirty or smelling bad or anything. I went on vacation with my the ITH's family (who probably wouldn't have said anything if they did notice) and then with my family (who definitely would have said something if it was really bad AND experienced week 4 of this experiment.) And yes, the ITH tells me when I smell bad.
What was it like to ditch most of my hygiene products for a whole month? Did anyone comment on my hair during the process? You'll just have to come back later to find out!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The TDE's Frozen Rant
I have a problem with Elsa.
Actually, Elsa herself isn't too bad. I have a problem with how young girls currently idolize Elsa.
In the grand scheme of things, we are making progress. Elsa is leaps and bounds better than Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. Again, my problem isn't really Elsa herself. My problem is that we presented young girls with 2 female characters and they all latched on to the wrong one. How did this happen?
A few weeks ago I finally saw Frozen. I had heard some of the hype and I knew that young girls were coveting Elsa costumes while the Anna costumes sat on the store racks. So, while I did enjoy the movie overall, I couldn't shake the feeling that we failed our girls somehow. The movie ended and I actually said to the ITH "I'm confused. Elsa isn't even the main character." And, as if to prove me right, the credits rolled and the first voice actor credit was for ANNA, not Elsa. I think Elsa was third or fourth. So, the people that made the movie agree that Anna is the main character, NOT Elsa.
Lets think about the two characters. Elsa has magic powers that make snow and ice. That is the one thing she has that might make her "better" then Anna. To protect Anna, they lock Elsa away and try to teach her to stop her powers. She is unable to stop her power so she stays locked away. In a way, this is admirable. She keeps herself locked up to protect her little sister. This is what a loving big sister would do. The problem is that both girls are actually miserable due to the separation. Anna is the one who tries and tries and tries to re-connect with her sister. Elsa just gives up.
Then, of course, their parents die. It IS a Disney movie after all. The girls grow into young women and the whole time Elsa keeps herself locked away, and the whole time Anna never gives up on her sister. Then, for whatever reason, there is this special day where they have to open up the palace and meet their people. Apparently it's time for Elsa to take over as Queen. Who knows who was ruling the people in the years while the girls were growing up. We just time lapsed over that part, so no worries.
When Elsa still can't control her powers and everyone finds out, she runs away and builds herself an ice castle. While the message behind "Let it Go" in the movie is a decent one (stop hiding who you really are) they contradict their own message by having Elsa literally hide herself from the world while singing the song. She is still being the protective older sister, keeping her dangerous powers from hurting anyone. Yet at the same time she's being weak and short sited and self-deprecating. We never see her push back against her exile even though she's miserable and knows that her sister is also miserable. No one, including Elsa, ever considers "hey, she can't stop this, so lets figure out how she can use her power responsibly." Elsa just sees herself as broken and unfixable.
Anna, on the other hand, learns of her sister's powers and immediately decides that they can find a way to live with it. She chases after her sister. She fights back. She risks her life. She saves her sister. Yes, she does some dumb things like agreeing to marry a guy she just met. However, that is behavior you might expect from someone who was locked in a palace her whole life, lost her parents at a young age, and was not even allowed to interact with her the one other child and family member in the building. Additionally, Anna's character grows and learns throughout the film. Elsa just miserably accepts her fate until Anna forces her to see things differently.
So, Disney presented two female characters and both are far better than many previous options we've presented to our girls. The movie actually passes the Bechdel Test. I'll even ignore the annoying fact that we still feel the need to make both girls princesses.... apparently we think young girls won't to relate to female college students so instead we present them with idols from a social culture that is at least 100 years out of date. However, the way I see it, comparatively we have a the weak sister and the strong sister. Thankfully our main character is the strong sister. Good job Disney. Yet somehow, all the little girls want to be Elsa and not Anna. I'm not even sure who or what to blame, but we are still failing our girls. We have a long way to go.
Actually, Elsa herself isn't too bad. I have a problem with how young girls currently idolize Elsa.
In the grand scheme of things, we are making progress. Elsa is leaps and bounds better than Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. Again, my problem isn't really Elsa herself. My problem is that we presented young girls with 2 female characters and they all latched on to the wrong one. How did this happen?
A few weeks ago I finally saw Frozen. I had heard some of the hype and I knew that young girls were coveting Elsa costumes while the Anna costumes sat on the store racks. So, while I did enjoy the movie overall, I couldn't shake the feeling that we failed our girls somehow. The movie ended and I actually said to the ITH "I'm confused. Elsa isn't even the main character." And, as if to prove me right, the credits rolled and the first voice actor credit was for ANNA, not Elsa. I think Elsa was third or fourth. So, the people that made the movie agree that Anna is the main character, NOT Elsa.
Lets think about the two characters. Elsa has magic powers that make snow and ice. That is the one thing she has that might make her "better" then Anna. To protect Anna, they lock Elsa away and try to teach her to stop her powers. She is unable to stop her power so she stays locked away. In a way, this is admirable. She keeps herself locked up to protect her little sister. This is what a loving big sister would do. The problem is that both girls are actually miserable due to the separation. Anna is the one who tries and tries and tries to re-connect with her sister. Elsa just gives up.
Then, of course, their parents die. It IS a Disney movie after all. The girls grow into young women and the whole time Elsa keeps herself locked away, and the whole time Anna never gives up on her sister. Then, for whatever reason, there is this special day where they have to open up the palace and meet their people. Apparently it's time for Elsa to take over as Queen. Who knows who was ruling the people in the years while the girls were growing up. We just time lapsed over that part, so no worries.
When Elsa still can't control her powers and everyone finds out, she runs away and builds herself an ice castle. While the message behind "Let it Go" in the movie is a decent one (stop hiding who you really are) they contradict their own message by having Elsa literally hide herself from the world while singing the song. She is still being the protective older sister, keeping her dangerous powers from hurting anyone. Yet at the same time she's being weak and short sited and self-deprecating. We never see her push back against her exile even though she's miserable and knows that her sister is also miserable. No one, including Elsa, ever considers "hey, she can't stop this, so lets figure out how she can use her power responsibly." Elsa just sees herself as broken and unfixable.
Anna, on the other hand, learns of her sister's powers and immediately decides that they can find a way to live with it. She chases after her sister. She fights back. She risks her life. She saves her sister. Yes, she does some dumb things like agreeing to marry a guy she just met. However, that is behavior you might expect from someone who was locked in a palace her whole life, lost her parents at a young age, and was not even allowed to interact with her the one other child and family member in the building. Additionally, Anna's character grows and learns throughout the film. Elsa just miserably accepts her fate until Anna forces her to see things differently.
So, Disney presented two female characters and both are far better than many previous options we've presented to our girls. The movie actually passes the Bechdel Test. I'll even ignore the annoying fact that we still feel the need to make both girls princesses.... apparently we think young girls won't to relate to female college students so instead we present them with idols from a social culture that is at least 100 years out of date. However, the way I see it, comparatively we have a the weak sister and the strong sister. Thankfully our main character is the strong sister. Good job Disney. Yet somehow, all the little girls want to be Elsa and not Anna. I'm not even sure who or what to blame, but we are still failing our girls. We have a long way to go.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
The TDE's Guide to Bees and Wasps
Sorry for the 2 week hiatus. As I previously mentioned, we're out of town a bunch this month. Internet was not always available and well... I'm on vacation so I decided that I didn't HAVE to do anything, including the blog. But, we're home now so it's back to the routine, including the blog.
It's also summer now and summer means all sorts of critters and bugs are around. We noticed some bees and wasps scoping out our balcony and I began to wonder what I could do to discourage them from building their home too close to our home. Off to the internet I went to see what I could find!
Criteria for my Bee/Wasp repellant research:
1) I was looking for something that would repel, not kill. I'll admit that I'm kinda a wuss about bees/wasps and other stingy things, but I also like having food to eat. So, I would like to keep the bees alive, just away from me.
2) As non-toxic as possible. Even if it is just repelling (and not killing) the bees I don't want to spray toxic fumes on my balcony.
3) The cheaper and easier the better.
4) Confirmed by more than one source online. While this still doesn't mean it actually works, it's a little bit better than accepting everything I read anywhere online as fact.
What I found:
To keep the buggers from moving in, this apparently works. They won't build a nest/hive if there is another colony nearby, so if you hang up some brown paper bags stuffed with newspapers they think it's someone else's nest and should move on and find somewhere else to build their home.
To keep them away from you or your gathering, the obvious:
1) Don't wear perfume, cologne, etc. especially floral scents.
2) Cover food or just don't leave it outside at all. This is especially true for sugary things.
3) Avoid brightly colored clothing*
*NOTE: Some discrepancy here. One site said avoid yellow and white and that wasps can't see red so red is a good color to wear. Another site said specifically to wear white. Multiple sites simply explain that wasps ARE visual so if you look like a flower they may be attracted to you. That logic makes sense. Lots of flowers are red or pink so I would think that wasps would be able to see red. I didn't research further.
Additional Suggestions, new things to try:
1) They don't like mint/peppermint. I saw this on multiple sites.
2) Cucumber slices/peels. Really. Cut them up and lay them around. Bees and wasps apparently don't like the smell of cucumber and they stay away. I saw this on multiple sites and am definitely going to try it out.
3) Tea Tree oil + Benzaldehyde. I'm adding this to the list simply because it came up so often. It was always these two things together, never one or the other or one mixed with something else. It seems odd to me because, as far as I know, I can't run out to the store and get a bottle of Benzaldehyde. Maybe I can? I'm also not sure how safe Benzaldehyde is. Besides, I'm much more curious about the cucumbers anyway.
4) Other scents that may repel them: cinnamon, garlic, other strong smelling herbs, wormwood, and human breath. Multiple sites said that if you stay calm and blow gently on the wasp they will fly away, possibly because they don't like how our breath smells. Though this could backfire if you just ate something really sugary I suppose.
In Summary, here is what the TDE recommends:
1) Don't look or smell like a flower
2) Keep food, especially sugary food, covered or indoors
3) Hang up paper bags stuffed with newspapers
4) Cucumbers and mint.
I'm not sure how to set up a truly controlled experiment, but I'll definitely report back any findings I collect this summer on how well the cucumbers work.
Most useful sources:
(I scanned many additional sites, but these three support the bulk of my content.)
WikiHow
DIY.com
StepIn2
Garden Guides
Daily Mail
It's also summer now and summer means all sorts of critters and bugs are around. We noticed some bees and wasps scoping out our balcony and I began to wonder what I could do to discourage them from building their home too close to our home. Off to the internet I went to see what I could find!
Criteria for my Bee/Wasp repellant research:
1) I was looking for something that would repel, not kill. I'll admit that I'm kinda a wuss about bees/wasps and other stingy things, but I also like having food to eat. So, I would like to keep the bees alive, just away from me.
2) As non-toxic as possible. Even if it is just repelling (and not killing) the bees I don't want to spray toxic fumes on my balcony.
3) The cheaper and easier the better.
4) Confirmed by more than one source online. While this still doesn't mean it actually works, it's a little bit better than accepting everything I read anywhere online as fact.
What I found:
To keep the buggers from moving in, this apparently works. They won't build a nest/hive if there is another colony nearby, so if you hang up some brown paper bags stuffed with newspapers they think it's someone else's nest and should move on and find somewhere else to build their home.
To keep them away from you or your gathering, the obvious:
1) Don't wear perfume, cologne, etc. especially floral scents.
2) Cover food or just don't leave it outside at all. This is especially true for sugary things.
3) Avoid brightly colored clothing*
*NOTE: Some discrepancy here. One site said avoid yellow and white and that wasps can't see red so red is a good color to wear. Another site said specifically to wear white. Multiple sites simply explain that wasps ARE visual so if you look like a flower they may be attracted to you. That logic makes sense. Lots of flowers are red or pink so I would think that wasps would be able to see red. I didn't research further.
Additional Suggestions, new things to try:
1) They don't like mint/peppermint. I saw this on multiple sites.
2) Cucumber slices/peels. Really. Cut them up and lay them around. Bees and wasps apparently don't like the smell of cucumber and they stay away. I saw this on multiple sites and am definitely going to try it out.
3) Tea Tree oil + Benzaldehyde. I'm adding this to the list simply because it came up so often. It was always these two things together, never one or the other or one mixed with something else. It seems odd to me because, as far as I know, I can't run out to the store and get a bottle of Benzaldehyde. Maybe I can? I'm also not sure how safe Benzaldehyde is. Besides, I'm much more curious about the cucumbers anyway.
4) Other scents that may repel them: cinnamon, garlic, other strong smelling herbs, wormwood, and human breath. Multiple sites said that if you stay calm and blow gently on the wasp they will fly away, possibly because they don't like how our breath smells. Though this could backfire if you just ate something really sugary I suppose.
In Summary, here is what the TDE recommends:
1) Don't look or smell like a flower
2) Keep food, especially sugary food, covered or indoors
3) Hang up paper bags stuffed with newspapers
4) Cucumbers and mint.
I'm not sure how to set up a truly controlled experiment, but I'll definitely report back any findings I collect this summer on how well the cucumbers work.
Most useful sources:
(I scanned many additional sites, but these three support the bulk of my content.)
WikiHow
DIY.com
StepIn2
Garden Guides
Daily Mail
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Gardening with the TDE
Hello blogland,
First, a few quick updates:
1) Schedule Updates from the TDE.
This week is the last week of school in my area. That means substitute teaching is over for the summer and I *should* be able to get posts up on Wednesdays. However, we're also going to be gone for much of June and internet availability is unknown for some of it. So, June could still be a bit hit or miss.
2) The dishwasher experiment is not going well. I haven't done any more trials. Its hard enough just keeping on top of the dishes in general with a teeny tiny dishwasher. I'm not giving up quite yet though.
OK, moving on:
It's spring and springtime means gardening. In the past we've done well with container gardening on our balcony. We built some "Earthtainers" a couple years ago and they work really well. They're awesome. Unfortunately, this year they shall sit unused on our north-facing balcony that gets about 30 mins of sun just before dusk. :(
However, you just can't keep the TDE and the ITH from digging in the dirt. We joined forces with some other folks and have planted a 10'x40' plot in the local community garden. It's a quick (5 min) walk from home and has been great so far. Here's a picture of our plot from yesterday.
Finally, one more garden-related thing I learned this week. I can hoe with both hands, with almost equal skill. Yep, the TDE is an ambidextrous hoer.
First, a few quick updates:
1) Schedule Updates from the TDE.
This week is the last week of school in my area. That means substitute teaching is over for the summer and I *should* be able to get posts up on Wednesdays. However, we're also going to be gone for much of June and internet availability is unknown for some of it. So, June could still be a bit hit or miss.
2) The dishwasher experiment is not going well. I haven't done any more trials. Its hard enough just keeping on top of the dishes in general with a teeny tiny dishwasher. I'm not giving up quite yet though.
OK, moving on:
It's spring and springtime means gardening. In the past we've done well with container gardening on our balcony. We built some "Earthtainers" a couple years ago and they work really well. They're awesome. Unfortunately, this year they shall sit unused on our north-facing balcony that gets about 30 mins of sun just before dusk. :(
However, you just can't keep the TDE and the ITH from digging in the dirt. We joined forces with some other folks and have planted a 10'x40' plot in the local community garden. It's a quick (5 min) walk from home and has been great so far. Here's a picture of our plot from yesterday.
We've got lots of things growing: corn, cukes, squash, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, broccoli, potatoes, onions, carrots, leafy greens, peas, and herbs.
We're also growing a lot of tiny little weedy things. Most of our seeds have sprouted now and are large and recognizable enough that I did LOTS of weeding today. Lots and lots and LOTS of weeding.
I've never really had a problem with weeding. Of course, I've never had to do a whole lot of it. I used to help my parents in their garden and flower beds when I was a kid, but it was never forced upon me. Today I learned that I actually find weeding almost (not quite, but *almost*) enjoyable. It's definitely oddly satisfying to me to yank out the weeds, especially when the whole root comes out. It's also really satisfying to see how much better things look when I'm done. Overall, it has a lot of positives. I'm outside in the sunshine, I have a task to complete, it's brainless and oddly calming, and I can see immediate positive results of my efforts. The only really bad part is that you have to be all hunched up and bent over for a long time and if you aren't careful you might step on a couple of bean plants. oops!
NOTE: The TDE is now internally brainstorming ideas for some sort of hanging apparatus that allows for weeding while laying on a lounge chair like device. No hunching or stepping on your plants!
Weeding does, however, make me wonder if I have some mild aspects of OCD. I suppose many people do, but we can control it which is the difference between those of us that do and do not suffer from the disorder. But still, I found myself struggling to stop. Oh, gotta get that one.... and that one... and there's one... and one more... wait, one more.... and oh as I'm walking past this part I already "finished" an hour ago I see at least 3 more that need to go. I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, being a mildly compulsive weeder isn't really so bad though.
Anyway, I'll post some updates throughout the summer so you can see our garden grow. There will definitely be some harvest pictures for you to enjoy too. But, pictures of MY harvest will be only mildly interesting to you. You should go plant your own garden so you can experience the pride and joy of having your own harvest.
So, it's time for everyone to get out there and garden! Growing your own food is super rewarding and I swear it tastes better when you grow it yourself. No excuses, wherever you may live, you can find a way to plant a few things. We had no access to any land, but we managed to grow a lot of veggies in our Earthtainers on our balcony. Now we have no land and no sun, so we found the community garden. Gardening also means spending time out in the sunshine with helps your body produce vitamin D and generally makes you feel better (especially if you have SAD.) Plus, there might be bacteria in the dirt that will make you happier. I know I feel a whole lot better today than I did two days ago. Sunshine + digging in the dirt makes the TDE happy. :)
Finally, one more garden-related thing I learned this week. I can hoe with both hands, with almost equal skill. Yep, the TDE is an ambidextrous hoer.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Perspective
You know that old saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes?
Yeah... so this happened:
I printed out a sheet of paper with 2 half page flyers on it. It needed to be cut in half. I had recently sorted through just about the last of the chaos from our recent move and had found some scissors and placed them in an easily accessible spot. So, I grabbed said scissors and proceeded to cut the page in half.... poorly.
Something just wasn't quite right. This scissors felt fine in my hand but they weren't cutting where I thought they should. Things were way off. It felt like I couldn't see what I was doing because the scissors themselves were blocking my view. The cut line was far from the fold I had made as a guideline, and it was crooked. I then attempted to "clean up" the crookedness of the line to no avail. I felt utterly incompetent at a skill I mastered 25 years ago.
I commented to the ITH that this was the worst cut job ever and made some comment about how the scissors are weird. And then,
ITH: "Wait, let me see those scissors."
TDE: *retrieves scissors* and *has sudden realization* "Oh, are these your lefty scissors?"
ITH: (joyfully) "You found my scissors! Where were they?"
TDE: "I don't know, I found them in while unpacking. I put them over here."
ITH: "They should live in the middle drawer over there."
TDE: *puts scissors away in said middle drawer*
TDE: "Wait... is that what it's like every time you have you to use right-handed scissors?!"
ITH: "YES!"
TDE: "oh honey, I'm so sorry."
ITH: "Thats why I bought my own lefty scissors."
I found myself with a whole new appreciation of being a lefty in a right-handed world. I think all the right-handed folks out there should find some left-handed scissors and attempt to make one simple straight cut with them. It's probably easier than literally or figuratively walking a mile in someone else's shoes and it'll be (mildly) life-changing. It will certainly give you some perspective.
Yeah... so this happened:
I printed out a sheet of paper with 2 half page flyers on it. It needed to be cut in half. I had recently sorted through just about the last of the chaos from our recent move and had found some scissors and placed them in an easily accessible spot. So, I grabbed said scissors and proceeded to cut the page in half.... poorly.
Something just wasn't quite right. This scissors felt fine in my hand but they weren't cutting where I thought they should. Things were way off. It felt like I couldn't see what I was doing because the scissors themselves were blocking my view. The cut line was far from the fold I had made as a guideline, and it was crooked. I then attempted to "clean up" the crookedness of the line to no avail. I felt utterly incompetent at a skill I mastered 25 years ago.
I commented to the ITH that this was the worst cut job ever and made some comment about how the scissors are weird. And then,
ITH: "Wait, let me see those scissors."
TDE: *retrieves scissors* and *has sudden realization* "Oh, are these your lefty scissors?"
ITH: (joyfully) "You found my scissors! Where were they?"
TDE: "I don't know, I found them in while unpacking. I put them over here."
ITH: "They should live in the middle drawer over there."
TDE: *puts scissors away in said middle drawer*
TDE: "Wait... is that what it's like every time you have you to use right-handed scissors?!"
ITH: "YES!"
TDE: "oh honey, I'm so sorry."
ITH: "Thats why I bought my own lefty scissors."
I found myself with a whole new appreciation of being a lefty in a right-handed world. I think all the right-handed folks out there should find some left-handed scissors and attempt to make one simple straight cut with them. It's probably easier than literally or figuratively walking a mile in someone else's shoes and it'll be (mildly) life-changing. It will certainly give you some perspective.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Things That Make Me Mad
There has been a lot of "noise" on Facebook this past week about "Bring Back Our Girls." I found myself feeling oddly unaffected by the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I think it's horrible. Perhaps if I were a mother I'd be more enraged. But to me, that is something happening far away from me and doesn't have any direct effect on me or my life or anyone I know personally. This sounds really self-centered I know, but hear me out. Below is a list, in no particular order, of things that make me mad that DO have a direct effect on me, my life, or someone I know personally.
I put this list together quickly and it is definitely missing things.
Even as it is, knowing that I missed a few important things, that is a pretty impressive list of things to be passionate and mad about. Do you know what I'm doing about it? Absolutely nothing. Not a thing.
I've taken no action recently to fight ANY of those things. OK, I shared this video on Facebook, but that doesn't really count. Why haven't I done anything? I have some thoughts on that.
First, here is an article a friend posted recently that gives 8 reasons young people today aren't activists.
I propose a 9th and critical reason that the article missed. There are too many things to be mad about. My anger is spread so thin that I'm not passionate enough about any one thing to be active in the fight against any of them. If you asked me to prioritize that list I don't think I could do it. To me, this is the main reason, and perhaps the only reason, that I am not fighting harder against "the man."
I see this "too much to be mad about" problem as having 2 pieces. 1) There really are more shenanigans going on. 2) Social media and technology make it so we hear about more of it.
I am literally bombarded by requests to fight the injustice. I used to get emails from the HRC every once in a while that included a link to go sign a standard petition online that they would send to my senator. I would take the 5 seconds to click a link and hit submit. Then I started getting emails weekly, then more than weekly, and I started just deleting them without reading them, and then finally I just unsubscribed from the list. Facebook is covered in posts about all of the things on my list and then some. We know about so many "evils" that we don't know which ones to truly be upset about. It's a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" situation except that there really ARE wolves everywhere and my generation has decided that we're safer if we sit quietly and hide rather than running toward the danger.
Sometimes I wonder if it is all a "master plan" by the conservative right to befuddle and win the "fight" against the liberals. I imagine a meeting where someone says "oh! I know! Lets do a whole bunch of horrible things at the same time and then they won't know what to do! They'll be spread so thin that we'll win everything!" Then they brainstormed and came up with Transvaginal Ultrasounds and Common Core and the "fast lane" of the internet, and all sorts of ways to claim that they are not killing bees or warming the planet.
No, I don't really think that happened, but I do wonder how we got to where we are. I think that I like to imagine that room full of people simply because it would give me ONE thing to be mad at. If we could rally and take out that imaginary room of idiots then we could take back our nation and our voices and win the fight against all the things that make us mad.
Instead, I suppose I better start prioritizing.
PS: #ImaginaryRoomOfIdiots should probably be a thing. We could fight it.
Net neutrality
GMO produce
LGBTQ rights
Women's rights
Public schools and standardized testing
Factory farms and our food supply in general
US health care industry
Nutrition misinformation
The environment as a whole and the "anti-global-warming" nut-jobs
STEM ed, especially for girls, but also for boys
Patent trolls and US Intellectual Property laws
Even as it is, knowing that I missed a few important things, that is a pretty impressive list of things to be passionate and mad about. Do you know what I'm doing about it? Absolutely nothing. Not a thing.
I've taken no action recently to fight ANY of those things. OK, I shared this video on Facebook, but that doesn't really count. Why haven't I done anything? I have some thoughts on that.
First, here is an article a friend posted recently that gives 8 reasons young people today aren't activists.
I propose a 9th and critical reason that the article missed. There are too many things to be mad about. My anger is spread so thin that I'm not passionate enough about any one thing to be active in the fight against any of them. If you asked me to prioritize that list I don't think I could do it. To me, this is the main reason, and perhaps the only reason, that I am not fighting harder against "the man."
I see this "too much to be mad about" problem as having 2 pieces. 1) There really are more shenanigans going on. 2) Social media and technology make it so we hear about more of it.
I am literally bombarded by requests to fight the injustice. I used to get emails from the HRC every once in a while that included a link to go sign a standard petition online that they would send to my senator. I would take the 5 seconds to click a link and hit submit. Then I started getting emails weekly, then more than weekly, and I started just deleting them without reading them, and then finally I just unsubscribed from the list. Facebook is covered in posts about all of the things on my list and then some. We know about so many "evils" that we don't know which ones to truly be upset about. It's a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" situation except that there really ARE wolves everywhere and my generation has decided that we're safer if we sit quietly and hide rather than running toward the danger.
Sometimes I wonder if it is all a "master plan" by the conservative right to befuddle and win the "fight" against the liberals. I imagine a meeting where someone says "oh! I know! Lets do a whole bunch of horrible things at the same time and then they won't know what to do! They'll be spread so thin that we'll win everything!" Then they brainstormed and came up with Transvaginal Ultrasounds and Common Core and the "fast lane" of the internet, and all sorts of ways to claim that they are not killing bees or warming the planet.
No, I don't really think that happened, but I do wonder how we got to where we are. I think that I like to imagine that room full of people simply because it would give me ONE thing to be mad at. If we could rally and take out that imaginary room of idiots then we could take back our nation and our voices and win the fight against all the things that make us mad.
Instead, I suppose I better start prioritizing.
PS: #ImaginaryRoomOfIdiots should probably be a thing. We could fight it.
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