busy girl thoughts

I’m proud to announce that busygirl is part of the blog action day.  It is an initiative by lighter footstep.  The idea is to have lots of voices on one topic, on the same day.  If you’d like to participate you can just click on the link and get involved.

I am an environmentalist.  Here are the simple things I do to contribute protecting the environment:

 - I try my best to use both sides of paper

 - limit the number of paper printouts 

 - I changed 2 lightbulbs in my house to the energy saving ones

 - I turn off lights and unplug chargers when not in use (almost obsessive compulsively)

 - I recycle all my batteries (target & wholefoods both take them)

 - I recycle or donate computer equipment, since they impose environmental damages 

I know I need to do more.  But at this point there are simply too many mixed messages and incomplete information.  For example, are hybrid cars really good? If my japanese car’s mileage is great, it’s probably as good as a hybrid car, since I’m concerned about the environmental damage the manufacturing process for hybrid cars cause.

There are a lot of websites that ask you to donate to green funds to offset your carbon fooprint.  This sounds like a wonderful idea.  But does it really work? Who are the recipients of my contribution?  What are they doing with the fund? Is my money better spent somewhere else?  But for those of you who’d like to contribute this way, this site is a good start.

For now, I’ll stick to simple things and try not to harrass my family and friends.  One tip I learned recently, is that cell phone chargers, when plugged in (even without connecting to your phone), drains power as well. So unplug it when you’re not charging.  Hey, it’s good for your electricity bill too.

Wired News - AP News

A small study links the type of bacteria living in people’s digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate’s allure.

That may be the case for other foods, too.

So we are (in some way, at least) controlled by the little guys in the guts? We humans like to think we rule the planet, when in fact microorganisms are the fittest in most environments. I personally like to think that eating chocolate and prefer pepsi over coke is out of my free will, not the microbes in my guts.  And I’d also like to think I went to school, got a job, and maintined a healthy diet is for myself, not for the masters in my guts.

This research gave a new meaning to "gut reaction". 

<Photo credit: nature.com> 

All dermatologists will tell you sunblock is the best skin protector.  You can use the most expensive skin products out there, but if you don’t use sunscreen, dark spots, wrinkles and loss of collagen will forever be your best friends. 

But all my friends and myself hate using sunblock on the face.  We usually apply day lotion with SPF, but then we don’t reapply it throughout the day.  Now, the sunscreen will only last an hour or two, depending on the SPF and your skin.  Eventually even if SPF is high, the lotion simply wears off and your skin is NAKED under the sun.  Reapplying sunscreen is a pain though.  Sunscreen is usually thick, even the oil-free kinds, and how are we supposed to apply it when we have make up on? Don’t mention it clogs your pores and cause breakouts.

I’ve probably tried all sorts of facial sunscreens, from department store to drug store brands.  To name a few, I’ve tried Cetaphil, Aveeno, Oil of Olay from drugstores. And Lancome, Estee Lauder and Shiseido from the department store, just to name a few.  For a while I thought Shiseido Extra Smooth Sun Protection Cream SPF 38 is impressively light, and a lot of my friends use it.  With Shiseido though, I still didn’t reapply when I wear foundation.

But recently I found Clarins UV Plus Protective Day Screen SPF40 , and as soon as I used the tester I was blown away. It is the best and lightest, bar none.  It has a matte finish, and not greasy at all (the texture is more watery than any products I’ve used). The SPF is 40, which is strong enough, and oil free of course.  And it’s small enough for me to carry in my small purse. I’ve been reapplying it 4-5 times a day (I live in CA, mind you), even with powder foundation on.  I haven’t had any breakout from it. 

Crazy Apple Rumors Site » Blog Archive » CARS Announces New Books! This is too funny. I personally am sick and tired of people wanting get a piece of Apple pie, which is understandable, but at least have some decency to make up better reasons for it. Not be able to change the phone battery? Not be able to brick the phone? iPod is too loud? Give me a Br….

Take Control of Being A Whiny-Assed Apple Customer The Missing Manual for Dummies will show you, the whiny-assed Apple customer how to leverage your inherent ability to bitch, bitch, bitch. Whaaaah! The iPod’s battery runs out after five years! Whaaaah! Apple bricked my iPhone after I took a soldering iron to it and installed a bunch of crap I downloaded from a Nigerian web site! Sure, you already sound like fingernails on a blackboard to anyone within earshot, but how can you weasel your way up to annoying bloggers, members of the press and even Apple executives? Read the book!