Category: news

Continuation from "Double Edge Safety Razor" part 1 and continued on part 3.

I survived my initial shaving with the new Merkur Heavy Classic razor. The Merkur HD really is a fun shave (sounds goofy I know) but there's something fun about vintage shaving. I got the hang of the "shaving angle" in short time and was able to shave "upside down" before I finished.

It did take me about twice as long to shave with this style razor, but part of that was me being careful and getting used to the new technique. These blades are also not meant to be fast, but to make a clean cut with several successive passes. The learning curve isn't steep at all. I just had to remember not to press down and to hold the blade at the proper angle. The "safety razor" prevents you from cutting yourself if the angle is too steep, as you might do with a straight razor. All of this, of course, is helped if you have a proper lather with good shaving soap.

I'm sure I'll get quicker with the shave as I get more practice. The shave does seem to be closer in spots, I missed a few of the "tricky" spots - they're just not as smooth. For now I'm happy I didn't have any knicks or cuts.

More to come after my next shave...

That's it. I've had all I can stand. Gillette Mach3 blades are to the point where they're losing me as a customer. The package at the store tonight said "Now in 5 pack!". Why are they giving me a 5th blade? Because they've raised the price to $11.25. (That over $2 per blade!)

Granted, I was totally out of blades at the moment so I bought them. I'm hoping they'll be my last for a long time because tonight I bit the bullet and shelled out $50 for a new "old-fashioned" safety razor (blades for this one are around $0.15 per blade).

Years ago Araolath told me he was wanting an old-fashioned razor and that I should check them out. So I've been partly interested in them off and on for quite a while now. I've just never had much reason to switch. Now I do.

They say it takes a while to get used to the new way of shaving and to just take it slow at first. Well, with summer upon us, I will have time to hide my soon-to-be-butchered face while I relearn shaving. My uneven "missed a spot" shaving pattern will also be worthy of staying home for. So what better time to start than summer?

I've been watching videos by this guy on YouTube, mantic, that has a good collection of shaving videos. He recommended a few different models of razors, various blades and techniques that are echoed on other howto sites. So if you're interested, yourself, check out some of his stuff for a good starting point.

Continued at "Double Edge Safety Razor" part 2 & part 3.

So I was talking to Kim the other day and she mentions that what would be really nice is a non biased listing of all major religions and what they stand for and believe.

Most people affiliate with a particular church because it's how they grew up, i.e. that's where mom and dad choose to take you. But a much better way to choose would be to see the different denominations and choose one that most closely fits your personal faith.

At this point I mentioned that there's probably a website out there to facilitate that, but I haven't a clue what it is.

This also brought up the issue of having a stances guide for presidential candidates. There's Vote Smart and some other sites to give out bio stats but nobody lays out a unbiased look at each candidates stance on major issues, or what each candidate considers major issues. A lot of that has to do with candidates not wanting to be painted into a corner or having their stances be oversimplified, but thats not impossible to work around.

It seems like we have hundreds or thousands of data tools to use online if it's in the interest of helping us consume, but finding really useful information in a helpful format on things like religion or politics is a huge pain in the butt. Why can't getting information about denomination choices or presidential choices be as easy as getting facts about video card choices?

If you need me I'll be out defending our system of consumerism, hoo-ah!

I was looking around on reddit one day and found a story about Stephon Marbury's line of shoes called Starbury. Basically, this line of shoes is targeted for low-income urban youth - they're all priced at $15 each.
He claims they're just as good as higher priced shoes (i.e. Jordans and the like), and there's some debate on the issue.

As you probably know, I'm no baller. I just wanted some cheap kicks and I thought a $15 shoe line was a great gimmick that I must support. I got some low top sneakers that really resemble some New Balance shoes. The best part was, while we were at a Steve & Barry's in Houston, they were having a clearance sale so my shoes were actually $9.

It also happened that Grimlen and Araolath were home the same weekend that I was, and got some shoes of their own. (Araolath got some gaudy baller shoes, grimlen got some sk8er shoes.)

Anywho, if you're in need of some decent, really cheap shoes, check out Starbury shoes.

It's probably a bit too late to order one as a Christmas gift, but it's still a cool idea nonetheless. The website is OneShare.com and they sell single shares of a stock along with the certificate of ownership (something that you usually must pay extra for after you purchase the stock.)

Granted, you can't choose from just any stock (i.e. GOOG, AMD - which is a bargain right now), but there's a healthy selection of some of the more popular brand-names available. It's a neat idea, especially for someone that may be a big fan of a company. If I had thought of it sooner there are a couple of people I would have considering a certificate for.

It's a neat idea and thought I'd pass it along. If you know of any similar websites (preferably ones that are maybe more flexible in their stock offerings) please share.

update: Oh yeah, there's also GiveAShare.com which does have Google stock for sale, but it's rediculously priced.