bookofjoe

I love the flower girl*

From Sublime magazine, which I'd never heard of before today but which in fact has been publishing six times a year** since 2007.

[via What Alice Found and clever nettle]

*Above, the Cowsills' 1967 Summer of Love classic , "The Rain, The Park, & Other Things."

FunFact: "'The Rain, the Park & Other Things' is one of the few hit vocal songs in which the title is not mentioned in the lyrics."

**Originally I wrote "bi-monthly" but after thinking about it for a bit decided there would enough people reading this who weren't sure whether that meant twice a month or every two months that it would be a nice gesture to spell it out and render that uncertainty moot, as it is clear (at least to me) that  most people don't like to feel they aren't sure about something and oftimes (unconsciously, to be sure, but whether that's the case or not the result is the same, isn't it?) blame the person who made them question themselves, not something I want to be the focus of if I can possibly avoid it, hence this explanation of what led me to change my mind — true enough, an awful lot of words when one (bi-monthly) would have sufficed but then, it's not like I'm paying for paper and ink, is it?

 

No-Frizz Comb

What with the war against frizzy hair reaching unheard of heights (today the Wall Street Journal devotes a lengthy front page story to the subject), Ricky's line of olive oil-infused no-frizz combs — good for 25,000 strokes, according to Ricky's — appear not a moment too soon.

From Ricky's: "We used a special process of baking olive oil within the plastic. The outcome is a comb that allows for faster drying, and its micro-sized particles fill in damaged hair to create a seamless surface inhibiting bacterial growth. It eliminates frizz and is anti-static, along with adding a natural soft shine without an oily feeling. This comb also recognizes where excess natural oil deposits are and redistributes them to a proper balance. Also works great for dry cuts by controlling flyaway hair."

It's not as if you've broken the bank for a useless accessory even if the above is nothing but twaddle — I mean, you've still got a comb.

All manner of combs and hair appurtenances, $5.99 to $12.99.

[via refinery29]

Dilbert's cure for insomnia

From Scott Adams' dilbert.com:

......................

Here's a tip for falling asleep. I don't think you'll see it anywhere else. It goes like this: Don't think words.

By that I mean don't imagine conversations that you plan to have, and don't replay in your head conversations you've had.

It's impossible to clear your mind of all thoughts. But I find it somewhat easy to switch off the language center of my brain. What happens after that is a flow of images, starting with ones that make some sense to my current life, quickly followed by randomness, then sleep. It usually takes less than a minute.

Let's say something is bugging you, or fascinating you, and the thought is keeping you awake. I'll bet that in those situations you're obsessed with the verbal elements of your problem. You're imagining what you will say to someone, or how you will explain yourself, or maybe what words someone else chose when annoying you.  To fall asleep, don't abandon the troublesome topic, because you probably can't. Just picture the situation in images alone. That will satisfy the part of you that can't let go of the problem while putting you on the sleep trajectory.

To be fair, I have no idea if this method will work for you. It's just something I discovered that works for me.

My wife hates my ability to sleep just about anywhere. Yesterday I dropped off for a few minutes during the new movie Paul. I would have awakened in ten minutes on my own, refreshed and ready to drive home. But that plan went off the rails when Shelly decided it would be funny to slap me in the chest and see what I would do if I woke up suddenly to a loud action sequence in the movie. I'm told it was hilarious.

Anyway, if you try my sleep tip, let me know if it works for you.

[via Richard Kashdan]

Shark Bite Oven Mitt

$18.

[via CSYCB]

What does this word mean?

Reader Tara Blaine invented it yesterday.

She wrote, "Let's just call them 'dorengerschplitz' as if that's the technical term. No one will question you — you're the world's most popular blogging anesthesiologist, after all. What you say goes."

OK gang, here's your chance to be in on the ground floor of a future Wired magazine "Jargon Watch" item.

Get to it.

Since she thought the word up, Ms. Blaine gets to choose the winning entry.

This will be the first she's heard of that so it may take her a while to recover from the burden of responsibility suddenly thrust upon her, courtesy of your friendly Podunk town treadmill walker.

But she'll get over it.

Prize?

Who said anything about a prize?

You?

Figures.

OK, I'll send a prize to the winner.

That oughta get you really excited 'cause previous recipients of prizes in my competitions have been gobsmacked with delight at what they've received.

Zoomin Watch

Just a concept at present,

designed by Gennady Martynov and Emre Cetinkoprulu.

Hard for me to decide which color I'd choose if I had to pick one, I like them all.

[via beautiful life]

App for the blind reads U.S. currency and speaks its value

Wrote Nick Bilton in a March 9, 2011 New York Times Bits blog post, "For the millions of blind people living in the United States, paying for something in cash can pose major challenges because there is no difference between the size and shape of a $1 or $100 bill.

"A new application, the LookTel Money Reader, available for $1.99 on the Apple iOS platform, hopes to help solve this problem by taking advantage of the device's camera to 'read money' and speak the value of the currency out loud.

"According to the company's Web site, LookTel recognizes all United States currency and can read $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills aloud.

"LookTel... says the app can recognize currency denominations in real-time. This means that users can simply wave their phone in the direction of the currency and it will speak the bill’s value as it falls into view of the camera. The application does not require an Internet connection.

"Identifying United States currency has long been a problem for the visually impaired. Other countries print currency on different sizes and shapes specifically to help people with sight problems identify the different denominations through touch."

Color-Changing Nail Polish

What took so long?

"Based on thermal changes in your body, this polish blossoms into a new color."

"Pick from a number of color combinations."

$4.99.