Personal scent care...

As a proper citizen of the United States, I concern myself with personal hygiene. I brush, I floss, I (try to) make myself look presentable.

Scent has been a somewhat vexing item, though. I was never been a fan of smelling like typical deodorant/anti-perspirant, so I chose unscented. If I wanted a scent, I'll reach for my cologne.

It wasn't until college that I started to think more about picking a scent. I didn't grow up in a particularly "smelly" household, so I didn't think about it much. But as I met people who applied a scent I liked, I started to consider it more.

Add in the fact that I a) don't sweat much normally, and b) have read enough about the risks posed by aluminum, the main sweat-reducing ingredient in modern anti-perspirants, to feel like I should avoid them, and I'm lead to choose the simple deodorant. Not a fan of roll-on or other wet/gel-based application, I use a stick.

Trouble is, deodorants don't typically come in "unscented", and as I said, I don't want to smell like... deodorant (or non-deodorant). I tried an unscented "Kiss my Face"-brand unscented deodorant from Whole Foods, and it just didn't hold up through a normal day.

What I did discover during my quest was that both of the colognes I like (Curve for Men, shamelessly stolen from my brother, and Halston Z-14 from high-school friend Brian Rockwell) both come as a deodorant stick as well. Yes, it is more expensive up front than buying a typical stick of Sure, but it takes me at least 6 months to go through one $10 stick (which I can buy least expensively on eBay). And it lasts a long time - I smell just fine over 48 hours later!

Let's think about that for a second - the smell I want to have, lasts a long time, cost-effective... it's a complete win!

So, consider that the next time you're putting on your current scent (or non-scent) - Do you like how you smell? Find a scent you like and make it yours!

Quote by which I live...

I have described myself as "360 degrees of geek", given my ENTP nature, but never have I read it as well described as this:

---
The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.

- Horace Walpole

Homeowner's Associations....

Lesson #1:

If you want to be involved with your HOA at any level (and not a) frustrated out of your mind, and b) not have your time wasted) don't bother going to the regular meetings (for the general membership).

The meetings are about 20% substance, and 80% annoyance. It is a very good example of why "pure" democracy is not ideal. Too many "votes that count" from the uninformed (despite every effort to inform).

Go to the board meetings and vote by proxy. Be involved, but be efficient!

some fine quotes for the day...

From my Google page, but I thought I'd share anyway:

We Americans live in a nation where the medical-care system is second to none in the world, unless you count maybe 25 or 30 little scuzzball countries like Scotland that we could vaporize in seconds if we felt like it.
- Dave Barry

The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble.
- Ellen DeGeneres

If man does find the solution for world peace it will be the most revolutionary reversal of his record we have ever known.
- George C. Marshall

Who are you?

We're all "special snowflakes", right? We're unique, just like everybody else.

Details aside, we *can* be categorized. I'm not referring to skin color or religious faith or ethnic origins. Those attributes certainly can flavor our experiences, but for the most part, our behavioral tendencies are based in our genetic code.

Many of us have people in our lives with whom we just "click". They can be friends with whom we'll interact for perhaps a lifetime. But there are just as many (if not more) with whom we just can't get along. What are the differences between us?

Some of us have a very hard time working in particular environments, or always get in trouble for taking things apart, or doing things in a different way than the "standard". Some are natural inventors, while others are more comfortable with steady, consistent work.

Years ago, my dad had me learn about the Meyers-Briggs Temperament Indicator. It is a device that measures 4 aspects of behavior, and ascribes a point value to those categories:

Extraversion/Intraversion (10-point spread)
Intuition/Sensing (20-point spread)
Thinking/Feeling (20-point spread)
Judging/Perceiving (20-point spread)

Typically, the subject takes a 70-question survey, and at the end finds where in the 16 possible "temperament types" he falls. There is no better or worse type, they're just different. It is possible to fall evenly between two or more types, as most people are not extremes of the spectrum.

Read more about it. You may find it odd finding pages and chapters that talk about you (as if written to describe you).

The Meyers-Briggs Foundation

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

A very good book is
"Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types".

I haven't read the followup
"Please Understand Me II: Temperament Character Intelligence" but I have heard it is excellent as well.

Each of us has natural tendencies, whether usually living by strict planning, or by the seat-of-the-pants. Some people typically choose from the heart, others from their head. These attributes take attention and diligence to adjust, if you feel some change is needed to suit the role you play.

The starting point is knowing who you are.

There *are* some smart people in this world...

We regularly hear about the stupidity that exists all around us. Just turn on the television or radio, watch any moderately successful movie, read any popular fiction, open your local newspaper - you won't have to look far. Between reality TV, talk shows and mind numbing drivel, one might be lead to think there is not much intellect out there. Certainly, much of what is offered to us is not geared to engaging our brains.

Output from the brightest and most ingenious is somewhat harder to find, but they do have outlets as well.... TED.com is one of those outlets.

Instead of spending a few hours watching TV, have a look at the Technology, Entertainment, Design website. Some of the most brilliant minds at work today are invited to speak (often quite articulately) for only 20 minutes on their subject.

Two examples:
Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do.
Aubrey de Grey says we can avoid aging.

Watch with an open mind. Listen to genius speak.