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:: Momentary Flash of Genius ::

What's in this section?
These are little grains of genius that strike at unexpected moments. Keep in mind that what I consider "genius" may not be quite up to snuff with what *you* consider genius!

Preparation H: How we barely know thee

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Perhaps I’m a bit behind the times, but I only recently heard about how Preparation H can be used for things other than swollen hemorrhoidal tissue!

I found out when my co-worker told me (and I’m not sure *how* this came up in conversation), “Preparation H can be used to reduce the bags under your eyes!” I was amazed! I mean, it makes sense. It stands to reason that other places on ones body can have engorged and inflamed tissues (and yes, I am using the word “engorged” just to gross you out!). It therefore also stand to reason that a cream meant to reduce swelling in one area might also work in another area.

I got curious and looked this up. Preparation H has phenylephrine HCL in it, which constricts blood vessels and reduces swelling. In the US, apparently, the didn’t like the idea of people using it in non-hemorrhoidal ways, so the reportedly reformulated it so it only works on your bum. I’m not even sure how they would target just butt tissue, but oh well. I guess I’ll believe them. But the Canadians seem to be OK with the unsanctioned use of the cream and have left the formula untouched and unchanged (OH Canada! eh!).

SO if you’re able to get ahold of some of this magical stuff you can use it for some of the following purposes:

1. Reduce appearance of bags under eyes.

2. Reduce facial wrinkles and lines.

3. Increase definition of muscles by dehydrating the skin, thus making it pull taut over muscles and creating the appearance of more definition. Often used by dancers and body builders.

4. Decrease the appearance of loose skin and cellulite.

5. Reduce bleeding and promote healing for new tattoos.

DISCLAIMER: I have never tried any of these things! I don’t have a tube of the US produced stuff, much less the Canadian version! However, the official Canadian Prep H site seems to stand behind at least a couple of the things listed above. Check out the official site’s beauty tips here and you can come to your own conclusions!

By the way, has anyone ever tried this before?

Winter Fashion Exchange 2009

Monday, January 26, 2009

When the economy is tough and you want some new clothes host a Fashion Exchange!

Yesterday a group of 9 women met for an unprecedented exchange of clothing. A parallel group of men (some attached to the women that came) met up for a day of physical activity and skull smashing. After a large brunch of prosage (that’s right! Worthington Foods baby!), home fries, eggs, and chocolate chip waffles with fresh berries and cream, the men headed out to the park to play football and the women began to unpack their wares.

At first it was polite and slow-paced. People were laying out the clothes they had brought. Some showed off their clothing and brought them to specific people on whom they would look best. And then suddenly there was a shift in the mood and the searching became a bit more intense and a little more chaotic. We all gave up trying to organize our piles and just resorted to turning over piles and piles of other people’s clothes. We were running in and out of rooms looking at ourselves in the mirror, asking each others’ opinions, and eventually gave up and ran around in our underwear. At one point, someone picked up a t-shirt, only to hear someone say, “No wait! That’s the shirt I CAME here in!”

I have never felt so much like a girl in my life. I have spent mos of my life as a tomboy, and there are still things that make me cringe, like choosing a mass chaotic exchange of clothing over being in the park running around throwing a football. Oh well. I’d better get over it because I got some AWESOME CLOTHES! In fact, as I sit here in my cube writing this, I’m wearing a completely new outfit comprised of a dress shirt and slacks from one person and a new laptop bag from another person.

Even after more than an hour and a half, we were going over the piles and STILL found stuff that we hadn’t seen before! The clothing exchange took about as long as a complete football game. The men came back right as we had finished. Even the boys picked up some stuff! There were somehow men’s shirts in the mix and a pair of snowboarding gloves. Kids got things too. Gavin went home with an Elmo t-shirt and Zoey and Sophie got a bag of cute t-shirts and a purse.

And the best part is that the rest of the clothes went as donations to Salvation Army and PATH (People Assisting the Homeless). Fashion, food and helping others all in one day! Not bad. So if you’re bored of the clothes in your closet and want to fill those gaps in your wardrobe, host a Fashion Exchange. Seriously, it’s way more fun than you’d expect. 

ROCK THE VOTE!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Be part of history and go vote!

Did you do it yet? Did you vote? Man, I dragged my butt out of bed at 6:30 am to make it to the polls before work. THAT was painful. No one can say that I never sacrificed for my country. I got there at 7:00 am and there was already a line out the door. Lucky (for me) some people were in the wrong location, so the line shrank a bit. Sucked to be them.

Really though it only took me 45 minutes to get through line and vote. I felt so...so...CIVIC! Like a good citizen! It’s a totally new feeling for me. 

I hope you’ve gone or are in line or are going some time today. DO IT! The time is now! GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO!

Go Barack! You can DO IT!

(...and now to take lots of beta-blockers to stem the nervousness in my stomach!)

Gettin' Political

Monday, October 20, 2008

I think this is the first time in my life it’s been worth it to get political!

I’m registered to vote, and I’m actually gonna head over to the polling places instead of doing a lazy absentee ballot cuz who KNOWS what kind of shenanigans they’ll try to pull this year!

It’s the last day to register. Have you registered yet? Gonna vote? Huh? huh? huH? I feel slightly like a rabid squirrel with all this frenetic energy around the election. Someone is even going around the office today asking people if they’re registered. He’s got a ton of registration slips with him too. Go dood! Way to get people involved!

Did you all see this weekend’s Saturday Night Live? I have to admit that I haven’t seen SNL in YEARS. But they’re really milking this campaign for everything it’s worth. Amy Polar did a great job taking over for Palin in this rap she did for weekend update. You HAVE to check it out!

In the meantime, Go Rock the Vote!

The Weekend that Redeemed Everything

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Suffice it to say, things have gone really well this weekend.

For those of you who know me, you know that the last couple of months have been pretty trying in one respect. This weekend, God moved and made all things well. My heart is bursting with thanks and joy. I can’t write much more about it in this public forum, but to all of you who have been praying for me and mine, THANK YOU! Our prayers have begun to be answered!

Edward Tufte makes me heart analytical design

Friday, August 22, 2008

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to a conference held by Edward Tufte, expert in informational graphics and information design.

I have seen books by Tufte, but never quite got what they were about. They are full of beautiful graphics, but I never stopped to read them. Not until my friend at work told me more about him and the stuff he does.

So I went to the seminar all revved up. The room was packed with almost 400 people! And while most people, I’m sure, were sent by their companies and seemed mildly bored, but I begged and pleaded to be allowed to attend. It was totally worth the groveling.

On one end, you could see how big a difference good design could make. Tons of complex data could be displayed in an easy to read and even enjoyable format! Bad design makes your eyes want to cross because its just information overload. It’s hard to describe without an example. I’ll take one example from his latest book, Beautiful Evidence. I’ll try to do it justice:

Below is a lithograph by Charles Joseph Minard depicting the losses in men, their movements, and the temperature of Napoleon’s 1812 Russian campaign.

Here is my slightly annotated version so you can see what these things mean. The yellow box indicates the zoomed image below.

You can visually see how the army gets thinner and thinner as they march toward Moscow. They started with 422,000 men. By the time they reach Moscow, they are down to 100,000. The black line shows their retreat. The cold of winter takes its toll and the troops keep dying. At one point, half the army is lost when they break through the ice on one of the rivers.

Here you see the comparison of how many started and how many survived the Russia Campaign.

422,000 men down to 10,000. That is incredible. And incredibly clear with this informational graphic.

Call me a nerd, but this kind of stuff really excites me! Lots of information isn’t to blame for overload. It’s bad design that’s to blame! For every situation, there must be a solution, not just any solution, but an AMAZINGLY clear and simple to read solution.

I know what to aim for now. I guess I’ll add that to the already mile high pile of “life callings”!