A cut above, or is that below?

So, after reading many articles online and depleting my stores of Mach 3 cartridges, I took the plunge and bought an old-timey safety razor. I got that and some matching old-timey razor blades from Details for Men – a site I found on the net. Many other places that extol the benefits of using a safety razor or “wet shaving” have been sold out of this particular brand and style. Apparently, Merkur in Germany has been selling these things with some success. The razor was 30 bucks, but ten blades were FIVE DOLLARS! I think one mach 3 blade is like 2 bucks or like 35 bucks for 16 at Costco – so there is huge benefit to using these razors right away. First I noticed it was smaller than I thought, but I was soon to find out how effective this razor could be. Articles on wet shaving online and reviews of the razor claim that you WILL cut yourself when you start using the razor. I guess most aren’t used to applying no pressure and really taking your time when you shave. Well, I cut the shit out of my face the first time. I’ve gotten much better and can now escape without a cut! I have read that the entire process is important, so for those of you who care:

Wash/Scrub while in the shower
Don’t dry your face when you get out\
Re-wet your face at the sink and rub in some pre-shave oil
Apply glycerin-based shave cream to your face with a badger hair brush
Shave with the grain
Rinse and repeat across or against the grain for a ridiculously close shave.
Rinse hot and then cold water
Apply aftershave balm – no alcohol
Whew!

Want to check it out?
www.classicshaving.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6886845/

I like it better than my old Gillette. It costs less, gets closer, and although it gives me some nicks from time to time, I’m getting better with every shave. So the internet was correct on this one, next up: I’m going to meet the deposed king of Nigeria! All he needs is some good faith money!

I know this is bad, but!

I have just started the fifth episode of Friday Night Lights on Hulu.com at WORK! HA! Yeah, there are about 3 minutes of commercials, but the picture is great and it makes these last couple of days fly bye. I actually found myselft reclining in my chair with my feet crossed watching this. I keep wondering why they aren't blocking the site! Anywho, on the flipside I would much rather be doing actual work and getting things done - but we all know why I am leaving, right?

$4 gas? WTF!

I saw this article on MSN, and in times of volitility, I noticed they like to scare up stories like this.

$4 gas: Yes, it's on the way - MSN Money

Either way, at over $100/barrel I see this as a very real possibility. I'm just thanking God for the T. I drive to Whole Foods and Shaws, and those are so close. So screw that gas! When it gets warmer, I'm walking!

A Whole New World of Time Wasting!

Just when you thought flash-based games, celeb news, tech news, the blogosphere, and YouTube weren't enough to get you through a boring day, Hulu comes along. This is the offical NBC/Universal (I think) site, designed to compete with YouTube and have an official outlet for their stuff. It is awesome. Commercials can be a little annoying, but we're all used to that by now. Check out this classic from their site...

Asian Market

For those of you who know, I'm an avid cook and gourmand. Sometimes the ingredients you want aren't at your local Whole Foods, so you have to go to a "ethnic" grocery store. The powerhouse of Asian grocery stores in Boston is Super 88. There is one in Brookline, Medford, and a small one in Downtown Crossing which I just visited.

These places are hidden gems. They have lots of produce, tons of Asian (duh) ingredients, and they are usually much cheaper than their Whole Foods counterparts (sometimes for the exact same product). I just picked up 5 stalks of lemongrass, a huge bunch of Thai basil, and 2 lbs of pho noodles for less than 5 bucks! The only downside is the inconvenience of going to another grocer, which usually wins out. That is why I suggest you make a run to Super 88 and stock up on things like Shao Xing, Rice Vinegar, Noodles, Sambal, Soy Sauce, and other things with long shelf lives. Then you have them, you saved some money, and you can go back in 6 months.

Although these places have lots of meat and seafood, I have to admit I haven't tried it yet. I'm not ashamed to admit that it weirds me out a little, plus they don't fillet, scale, and gut for you!

Tough Questions

I am making my way through a book called Confessions of an Economic Hitman. It is really interesting - about this guy who worked for a consulting company (called MAIN) that did economic and infrastructure studies in third-world countries to justify World Bank and IMF loans to these countries. He would skew and distort the reporting to justify huge loans that would insure most of the money would make its way back to Bechtel, Halliburton, and other US firms. The loan size, coupled with the bogus economic projections (provided by MAIN), would make it impossible for these countries to pay back the debt and they would be beholden to the IMF, World Bank, and their puppeteer, the US.

What this book brings up is questions of empire, consumption, and disparity. What I ended up asking though, is obvious:

• Do there have to be "have nots" to enable the "haves"? and the follow up to that is:


• Is that so bad when you live in the country of the "haves?"


• Is it so bad that our empire actively pursues policies that hurt other countries (I'm not just talking about militarily) for our benefit?


• What responsibility (if any) do we have to the rest of the world as citizens of the empire?


• Are we all responsible for the plight of the world's exploited because of our involvement (as consumers primarily) in the global supply chain?

I find it hard to believe that we need all we have. Not in respect to individuals, but in respect to our country. We can be more efficient and we can weed out corruption. I personally think there have to be "haves" and "have nots," but I don't think it needs to be in the current balance. The US doesn't need to spend $600,000 on each Tomahawk cruise missile, $137,500,000 for each F22 Raptor, and $200,000,000 on each Joint Strike Fighter. This money has a low economic multiplier, is concentrated among relatively few individuatals, and by the way, who are we dogfighting? I'm pretty sure Osama doesn't have any MiGs... We spend money recklessly and only strengthen the congressional-military-industrial complex. I think the more we can marginalize that construct, the more we can tip the balance towards global equality. Of course, all those old white guys in grey suits will have to be voted out first.

Animoto - so very cool

I'm sure I'm late to the party on this one (just like Facebook), but I think this is one of the coolest new websites I've seen. It takes pictures, either uploaded or linked to your Picasa, Flikr, or whatever site and creates a sick movie like presentation that is synched up with music of your choosing. This is totally better than anything I could have made on my own, and kick's your regular slideshow when it's down. Plus, every one you make will be different!

Here is a sample of me and Sarina:

I'm sure people already know about stuff like Animoto and I always feel late to the game on the sick new webware. However, should you like to see a badass listing of cool sites, check out CNET's Webware 100 - you can even vote on your favorites!

http://www.webware.com/

Faking It

I just came off a four day weekend and I have three days left this week until I can give my notice on Thursday. This morning my boss came into my cubicle and starts telling me about all the initiatives he wants to start. I found myself staring at him and nodding, but thinking about playing on the Internet, or how I can string this task he just gave me into an all-day project. I know it is terrible, but I have been on the way out for the last 2 weeks, and I just want to start something with some direction! ARGH!

Either way, it is funny how I have to pretend to be a diligent little worker bee in the meantime. I think I'm particularly good at this as my boss loves it when we agree with him. Not only does he love it, but he never follows up on any of those agreements.

For example, he said that he would schedule one of the three people in our group to recon some hedging issues that pop up on a weekly basis. I think he has said this about five times, but never any follow through. So, when I pitch that idea, or bring it back up, he thinks it is great. Then he talks about it for 35 minutes, and then has to go to a meeting, and never brings it up or follows through on the idea. Right now, I'm just killing time.