My lack of hair-care products is going well.

I did 5 days with no shampoo/conditioner, then one use, and now it's been 9 days since that use and the grease seems to be decreasing. (Or maybe I'm getting used to the "natural oils" of my hair?) I've used baking soda twice this week and that seems to immediately cut back on the greasy/dirty look and feel of my hair. I've even gotten a few compliments. My last concern is the long-term effects of baking soda on hair.
"the protein in hair is fragile. In addition, 90% of the dirt on hair can be removed by washing with warm water only. Therefore, my conclusion is that you don't have to use baking soda to wash your hair."

http://www.chemistryquestion.com/English/Questions/ChemistryInDailyLife/4c_baking_soda.html

I think ideally I would decrease the frequency of washing with baking soda, so next week I will try to cut down to once per week.

Sunday, Nov. 15, 9 p.m.
Laff Your Pants Off!
ImprovBoston
40 Prospect St.
Cambridge, MA
Tickets: $12

Yeah, we could tell you what a toaster, an absinthe bottle, and a the pilgrims have to do with burlesque... but that'd ruin the surprise. Beat the Sunday night blahs and get your butt to ImprovBoston in Central Square this Sunday night at 9 p.m. for some classic jokes and jokes that are bound to be classic! LAFF YOUR PANTS OFF stars the lovely Boston Babydolls and features our special guests Vikki Likkerish and the musical (and tiny) Bethany Boles!

Sunday, Nov. 15, 9 p.m.
Laff Your Pants Off!
ImprovBoston
40 Prospect St.
Cambridge, MA
Tickets: $12

Yeah, we could tell you what a toaster, an absinthe bottle, and a the pilgrims have to do with burlesque... but that'd ruin the surprise. Beat the Sunday night blahs and get your butt to ImprovBoston in Central Square this Sunday night at 9 p.m. for some classic jokes and jokes that are bound to be classic! LAFF YOUR PANTS OFF stars the lovely Boston Babydolls and features our special guests Vikki Likkerish and the musical (and tiny) Bethany Boles!

Got to do a fair bit of driving today. We went out to Marlborough, so I'm up to about 75 miles on it. Woo!

Driving at night in the rain was worry free, now that I know where my wipers are :)

I learned last night that it's not normal for a car to accelerate on its own when going down a hill (my Ram did that), nor is it normal to be able to drive with the parking brake on (another Ram feature. It was a big sluggish with the e-brake on, but didn't stop it at all).

The weekend has been fun so far. Friday night we hung out with not one by two honorary NEG members (they live far away but are like family). Late night... got home at 2am... but totally worth it.

Today we were with D and other D. I learned that when a 3 year old jumps off the sofa and lands knee first in your crotch, it really knocks the wind out of you ;) Aside from that, it was a great day.

Tomorrow we will be hanging with Tember, including a trip down to Foxboro to get milk, some time at the Bass Pro Shop I'm sure, and a detour by Boch Toyota to pick up / drop off some stuff.

Originally published at comlink.

• 21:01 @bellechevalier Awesome. #
• 07:47 enroute to NYC... #

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Tuesday night I am being nice and driving my brother to the BU basketball game at Agganis Arena. I'm not going to the game but I want to hang out in the area so I can drive him home after. I know there is a Starbucks nearby but is there any other place where I could hang out for a few hours and read or do some work while he's at the game?

Looking for something to do on this rainy Saturday night? Head down to ImprovBoston in Central Sq. and check out MOSAIC. 7PM tonight (and every Saturday night!)

x-posted to davis_square

UPDATE: SOLD!

Thanks for your advice, everyone! :D

Hello b0st0n!

I'm planning on selling a clarinet I've had for years. I checked the Memories and didn't see anything about selling musical instruments. I searched Yelp for stores that weren't guitar-only and only found one (Rayburn Music), and they didn't seem too enthusiastic about buying used instruments (or maybe I'm wrong). Does anyone know of any other places around Boston that buy used instruments?

Thanks!

I wish the star trek shoes looked like this, instead.

After reading a number of Yelp! and OpenTable reviews of a few favorite local spots, I have a few hopefully helpful recommendations for Bostonians who are sincerely looking for a dining experience, rather than just a palatable bite to eat.

1) Reservations are always a good idea. If a restaurant takes them, make them. It'll cost everyone a lot of potential frustration and embarrassment. Even if the property doesn't take reservations, the call will at least allow you to check if there's a dress code.

2) Vegetarians/vegans/allergies: call ahead and double-check to make sure that the menu will accommodate your needs, or at the very least to see if the kitchen can whip you up something special off-menu. Let's face it ... not many mainstream restaurants offer more than one or two veggie options outside the salad menu, and many don't have any true vegan dishes.

3) Don't presume that you'll be able to get a table for more than four without a reservation. That's the general line of demarcation between a party requiring a standard table or a large one.

4) Don't presume that a restaurant will seat a partial party. While it may be the most hospitable thing to do, many establishments have policies against seating incomplete groups. Why? Because partial parties rarely order more than water or an occasional drink while waiting for the rest of the group, and that time spent waiting is costing the restaurant time -- and therefore money -- that a full party would have been spending in your place.

5) Be aware that many restaurants have menus for the bar/lounge/cocktail section that differ from those in the dining room. Don't assume that just because you can order (X) in one part of the building, that (X) is available on the rest of the property as well. Also, there are some places -- Top of the Hub sticks out in my mind -- where the bar/lounge section and dining room section are essentially different restaurants, with not only differing menus, but also different hours, dress codes, and even locationally exclusive staffs.

6) Finally, while there are myriad details that could be addressed regarding the actual dining experience, I'll say only this: if you want to be taken seriously as a diner, please take the restaurant and its staff seriously as well. While your server might appear to be just some kid working his way through college, he could in fact be on a lifelong service-industry track that many outside the business don't give nearly as much credit as it deserves. The be-all, end-all here: your server earns $2.63/hour in Boston. It's the legal minimum for all tip-receiving employees ... this is why we tip them. Fifteen percent is considered the minimum for reasonable service; good service requests 20 percent, people. Just remember, $2.63 an hour.

• 20:52 @singlema Cell phone! #
• 19:16 @Jen_Kvids Are those included in the 2 for $1 deal? #

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Hey all. I shall soon be organizing a b-day celebration and I'm looking for a nice place overlooking Boston or some lovely bar with a nice view. Originally, I was thinking of the Cambridge Hyatt on Memorial Drive, because I heard they had a revolving bar (Spinnaker), but while researching it, I've discovered that it is now closed. (:(

Does anyone have any suggestions other than the Prudential Center (I've heard some pretty awful reviews about the place)?

Thanks for your suggestions in advance!

I learned that fans of my new vehicle call them Tacos.

I forgot the power cord for my laptop today. Subconscious excuse to drive a few more miles? Could be...

Got a call from the dealership... the finance guy missed a form, so I have to zip over there on Saturday morning. Yay. Should be quick though.

Read the manual at lunch. Now I know where my buttons are. Seriously considering the 115V/400W electrical outlet addon. MMM.... having a plug in my bed to hook a sound system / light / tool up to sounds pretty freakin cool... the motor essentially becomes a huge generator. It all depends on how much that would cost as an aftermarket addon, or it it's even possible to add later.

So, I think for now my very uncreative name for him will be Taco.

Originally published at comlink.

Anyone had any good experiences with classes in the area that teach advanced web programming topics?

I've been doing web programming for years but I'm kinda stuck in my "Web 1.0" ways and I really want to learn advanced CSS, AJAX, more in-depth knowledge of mySQL, etc etc. I find that when I teach myself, I don't always develop the best habits and don't always figure out the best practices.

The Web Development program at BU's Center for Digital Imaging Arts looks pretty good. Anyone have experience with that?
http://www.cdiabu.com/web-development.php

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Hot fucking damn! I'm an internationally sold artist. It's little stuff of course, but no matter. In August I sold that mermaid in Finland. Today I found out that this week the fish I forged at the Blacksmith Marathon sold for 100 €, or a hair under $150. It sold the day I came back home. (That's right, I'm home now! Of course it's a little surreal. I was only away for six months, but that's half-a-year, which sounds quite a bit longer.)

For Guy Fawkes day and bonfire night celebrations, I got to help set up professional grade fireworks shows. One of the big ones we set up something like $20,000 worth of fireworks. Another one was hand fired -- which means that where the directions on the fireworks say, "light fuse and retire 25 feet," we actually light the fuse and retire about 25 inches. I'm definitely looking into fireworks opportunities in this area.

The countries I visited in my 194 days abroad: Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, England, Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Italy, France. Obviously I didn't hit them all, and there's more to see and more festivals to attend. They're full of wonderful people who I want to see again. I must have met fifty or sixty new people who I plan on keeping in touch with.

I want to write, I want to forge, I want to be creative. I don't want to get stagnated -- that's my biggest fear. Maybe I'll go downtown and register myself a business account so I can feel like there's forward motion. If I had a workshop/studio space, that would rock. Maybe I'll clean my room.

Someone might say, "Take some time off," but my mind would claw out of my skull if I didn't feel like I was accomplishing something.