• I successfully used Hamachi LogMeIn to create a VPN between my old computer running Windows and my new computer running Ubuntu, and shared files both ways!

• I discovered Project Hamster, a gnome-panel applet for tracking time that is so cool it almost makes time tracking fun.

• I upgraded to Karmic a few weeks ago and noticed that once again maximizing and minimizing windows was painfully slow. A few days ago I remembered the solution: xserver-nobackfill (for karmic). It works great for my Thinkpad T500 with an ATI HD 3650 video card.

• After trying out a gazillion different types of non-antiperspirant deodorant because of the cysts I started getting junior year of college, I think I might have actually found something that works well enough to wear a shirt for more than one day between washing: zinc oxide. The past few days I have been experimenting with using my zinc oxide sunscreen and it has worked well so far. I am almost a little suspicious – does it work because zinc oxide is anti-microbial, or because it also plugs sweat glands? I will report back soon…

In other news, only 7 days until I go home for Thanksgiving!!!

tags: experiment, navi, ubuntu

This week the Lighten Up! sunrise simulator that I ordered arrived. Paired with a small lamp and 60 watt incandescent bulb, it generates a growing glow starting around 6:00 am and peaking a half an hour later at full brightness. I am convinced that it makes waking up more pleasant, and it also allows me to go back to sleep more easily when I wake up in the middle of the night. I don’t have to constantly check my alarm clock to tell what time it is — if it’s dark I know that I don’t have to get up any time soon. It’s comforting having something running routinely and automatically, so much so that I didn’t turn off the light over the weekend even though I could have slept in. During the week it is usually my alarm that ends up waking me up at 6:25, but yesterday and today I woke up around 7 to a light room.

Anyway, I strongly recommend the Lighten Up! device to anyone who has to wake up in the dark in the winter and doesn’t like it, or anyone who is fascinated by the idea of sunrise simulator but doesn’t want to blow an absurd $90-$120 on a fancy alarm clock with a built in light.

tags: experiment, health, purchase

If you’re like me and you are about to graduate soon you are probably looking for a new free email provider because your school address is going to run out, and someone has already taken all the reasonable variations of your name in Gmail.

These are some of your options:

• Lavabit was created as an alternative to Gmail in response to privacy concerns. I like that it is geared towards people like me who are at least semi tech-savvy, that there are multiple account options, and that they offer IMAP. (Note that the free options offer 128MB – 1GB of storage.) The major downsides are that they only allow underscores in their usernames and not periods, their current webmail interface looks like it’s circa 2000, and I can’t get over the fact that “lavabit” just doesn’t look professional on a resume.
• Inbox.com offers 5GB of storage. They have a very nice ajax-y web interface with multiple templates including one that is text-only. Downsides are that the homepage is cluttered, ugly and kind of sketchy (are they trying to trying to be the next Yahoo?). Also, no IMAP, and when you log into the web interface each time it bounces up from the bottom of your browser window, which is only cute the first time.
• GMX is the international version of German site GMX.net’s email service. They offer 5GB storage space, like Inbox.com. The interface is still in beta and has a few kinks. I wish there was a text-only version and I can’t figure out how to send my emails in plain text. Also it the interface pops up in a new window when you log in. But, they offer IMAP, and I like how short their domain name is. For now I think I am going to use them, although I am little suspicious that this is too good to be true because I haven’t figure out they are making money yet. Maybe when the interface goes out of beta there will be some ads in the side column — I noticed they conveniently left some blank space there. I wouldn’t mind that.

tags: experiment, online

Lately I have been trying out the various free sites that let you access keep track of your expenses:

• Buxfer
• Mint
• Yodlee MoneyCenter
• Wesabe

Of those, only Yodlee MoneyCenter currently supports Citizens Bank. Mint uses Yodlee, so I think it will probably support Citizens Bank in the near future. All of them support major banks like Citibank, Bank of America, Wachovia, etc.

Buxfer and Mint have the nicest interfaces by far. Buxfer uses Google Gears to save all your login information locally on your computer. You can also use your Gmail account login instead of creating a new username. I think I probably like Buxfer’s minimalist Google-inspired layout better than Mint’s, but ultimately it comes down to who supports Citizens Bank first. For now, Yodlee MoneyCenter, which has been around for the longest, is plain but functional.

Anyway, it’s worth checking out at least one of them. Interesting see where your money over the past year has gone.

tags: experiment, online

My mom bought be a 2lb box of baking soda this time around. I was pleasantly surprised to see this suggested use on one of the edges:

FULLER MORE MANAGEABLE HAIR
To make your hair more managable and to help remove build up, mix a teaspoon of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda with your favorite shampoo once a week. Rub in and and rinse thoroughly. Apply favorite conditioner.

I tried it out the last time I washed my hair, although I didn’t follow their suggested amounts. Instead I use the same amount of baking soda that I usually use when I make my paste (two tablespoons maybe, maybe?) and just substituted some shampoo instead of water. The result was a slightly gooey paste that was much easier to apply than the plain water and baking soda mix. As far as I can tell, you get the best of both worlds. My hair smelled nice afterward and felt softer than when I just use water and baking soda. And so far my hair has stayed clean for a full two days, which plain shampoo could never pull off.

Anyway. If you currently use shampoo and are disappointed with its performance or want to get rid of buildup, I’d recommend trying this out. And if you currently use baking soda paste (okay, so that’s probably only one person who reads this site), you might consider trying it out if only for the fact that it makes it so much more easier to spread around.

tags: experiment

After using Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap for shampoo for my past two hair washings, I am ready conclude that the experiment was a failure. Even a day later and multiple rinses, my hair feels sticky and clumpy, probably because of glycerin buildup from the vegetable-oil based soap. Perhaps it would work better if I used less, but I’m not sure if I want to try this.

Glycerin is base. As soon as I get home I am going to scrub my head with lemon juice or vinegar to get it out once and for all.

I still like Dr. Bronner’s as a soap, but I’m not so sure about those 18 uses…

tags: experiment, health