curly girl method an experiment

 For the last half a year I've seen a lot of curly hair things on the internet specifically the Curly girl method. I figured some more defined curls would look good on me so I decided to try it out and document my results.

As a starting point my hair is wavy and loosely curled when wet after some tests I concluded that it's also lowporosity and has thick strands. 

So what is the CGM I'm lazy so rather than reading a lot of different blogs I asked chatgpt to do it for me. Basically it's things you can do to get more curls and to have them survive for longer. Reading through it I did things several things that I already do although for different purposes. 

1 prewash detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb 

This is something I already do and don't feel the need to change. Though my main reason for detangling my hair before showering has more to do with limiting the amount of hair stuck in the drain.

2 washing use a shampoo without sulfates or silicones

So, there is several ingredients that weighs down your hair I used the  curlsbot to check the ingredients before my experiment. 

3 same with conditioner

I don't usually use conditioner, I've never really seen much difference weather I use it or not. But for this I'll get one and try.

4 apply gel while wet 

This is to not loose the curls while the hair dries. Reddit recommended I use aloevera gel for this. I have a vague idea that its skincare properties will translate to hair, maybe? My sister on the other hand who has also gone into the CGM rabbit hole recommended something called Ecogel.

5 air dry 

Again I already do this mostly cause I'm lazy 

7 refresh mist with water and scrunch waves into place 

This is things to do the next day. 

8 other

There is a few other things one can do like sleeping on a silk pillow case or with the hair in pony tail on top of head. I tried the second one but it was very uncomfortable and I value my sleep more than my hair so we shan't be doing this.

9 time

So chat gpt said nothing about this but some googling turned up that it might take some time to show results. 

The experiment

My plan is to try these things out one at a time to see what will make a difference starting with shampoo and conditioner. I'm going to try each for a month and see what difference it made.

For this I have 3 different shampoos. 

Garnier solid shampoo, with forbidden ingredients. 

By Viera curl shampoo, This should be specific for curly hair and has only approved ingredients.

Friendly lavender and teatree bar, this is not specifically for curls but it doesn't have any of the forbidden ingredients (after an update to the curlsbot it now has some but it's too late to change) and I already had some. 

The fact that two of them are shampoo bars might be a problem but I prefer them and haven't found anything that suggests it would make a difference.

To this I'll add conditioner TRESemme flawless waves and Aussie three minute miracle. 

Month 1

First out was the friendly bar and the Aussie conditioner.

The results was distinctly mid. My hair is wavy but not more or less then it always is. It is more greasy though unpleasantly so though it isn't really visible.

Month 2

Garnier time and still doing the Aussie conditioned.

Testing them I get some unexpected results the Friendly one leaves my hair greasy and full of build up. The Garnier doesn't something about the shampoo makes the conditioner stick so my hair so really soft. It is a little dry so I added a few drops of hair oil to the ends. 

It doesn't make it curly but it's nice and I considered getting more of it only to realize that it is apparently out of stock everywhere. 

Month 3

Curly girl time with the By Wiera and TRESemme. 

This is sort of in the middle a bit greasy but not much and again no change in the curls. The By Wiera is wierdly gelatinous but it's fine.

Results 

At the end of every test month I took a picture of my hair. This is my hair washed with shampoo and conditioner, air dried and nothing else. Looking at them now month two does have nicer curls but not to an extent that I cant say it's because of the length. In general this is not at all what the results should be according to CGM.

With results like these I think I'm going to give up on this use up my leftover shampoo and then try to get a hold of something like the garnier bar. 

As for the gels the eco gel that my sister recommended worked well and the aloe vera did nothing.

The Scum Villain´s Self-Saving System 3

This is the 3rd book in the serie if you are curious about the previous ones the reviews of the first and second are here. But the general premise is: Shen is dragged into the fantasy book he read and now has to fix the plot.   

Plot

After last book Shen is in the demon realm held hostage by his former disciple and stalker Lou Binghe.

Shang the author who is also dragged into the book visits and reveals more about the story and that the reason for several of the plot-holes is him dropping the more complex plot-lines about Lou´s parent in favor of adding more romantic partners. Mostly as a result of fan reactions.

This becomes relevant when Shen collapses unexpectedly and wakes up in his original body (technically its his second body) laid to rest in a mausoleum filled with dead demon kings and magical traps along with Tianlang-jun Lou´s father who is contrary to popular belief is not dead. But who does plan to get revenge on the humans who trapped him for decades. 

Thoughts

All descriptions of this series describes as danmei (boys love) and I've got to say it's not. The system ships the Shen/ Lou romance but Shen doesn't really have any romantic feelings for Lou. Don't get me wrong he cares for Lou but it's more paternal maybe. Also the more interactions they have the less sure I am of Lou´s feelings either. He is obsessed with Shen but I'm starting to think it more like a father figure. Though one he wants to fuck so maybe not. They definitely need to actually talk to each other rather than just making assumptions of the others feelings.

this all lead to  the book being a bit attempted rapey. I suspects that they will get together in the end but I'm not sure if I want them to. On the other hand that would be following the tropes and this author is very aware of tropes and cliches using and subverting them. So hopefully it will end well.

We do find out that part of last books plot was caused by the demon Zhuzhi-lang helping Shen. Though the help was ruining his reputation so he'd leave the sects that the demons are planing to destroy. I do like this character being another in the long line of people making Shens life difficult. Shen's continuing struggle to be dignifies, proper and respected being hindered by the system, Lou, Shang and many more is just one of the things that makes this book fun and enjoyable.

In this book The system forces Shen to explore various the backs stories of different characters including his own, sort of. At least it's the backstory of the character he is inhabiting. Alss the backstory of Tialang-jun Lou´s demon father who like Shen now have a body made from mushroom (it's a weird book). It does deepen them and adds substance to the book and explains some of the characters actions adding nuance to them. It wasn't necessarily something I'd thought the books were lacking but it is nice. 

save money #5 free stuff swapping

In my local facebook group I saw that a local garbage company was organizing an event. Here people could get rid of things that can't be recycled in the normal bins but also for things that were in good condition they would be set out for people to take. 

Events like this along with buy nothing groups are fairly common and good places to find things for free or at least cheap. The downside is that the selection tends to be limited so finding something specific can take time. 

I didn't have anything I needed but I had things I wanted to get rid of and I was curious. It is amazing how much things I found that I didn't want anymore. I wasn't even doing a decluttering just keeping an eye out and slowly the pile of things grew. Adding  that I'm maybe considering moving soon and it makes this very timely. 

The day of

The event started at 3 and I had a lecture until 4. It didn't say on Facebook when it would end but I assume it's at least a few hours so I'm trying to make it if not there is another event in a month. 

I did make sure to pack everything before hand so I could just leave directly after the lecture. That same day I'd gotten a delivery and the box came in handy to transport it. Partly since I was going to get rid of the box and I don't want to get rid of the bags.

Turned out my lecture ended early so I could leave and be there a bit after three. There were quite a lot of people there but not that many interesting things. They brought things out as they came in so there might have been something if I stayed longer. But I didn't. 

Though I did find some things a stack of clay pots but they didn't have draining holes so I left it. I did pick up a pot to use as a mold for some future candle-making endeavors. 

In the end I didn't find much I wanted but if I had been less picky or stayed longer there were plenty I could have picked up. I'm mostly glad to be rid of my things, mostly my printer which has been a source of frustration almost since I bought it. 

Alla fredagsaftnar samlades man by Eva Öhrström

 This is a non-fiction book about salons as a phenomenon. From their origins in the 1700 and until they disappeared after the first world war. The book sorts them by location but focuses on France, Germany and dome Sweden. It describes some famous and influential ones. 

In general salons were regular or weekly gatherings hosted by members of the upper class, though the guests could be slightly more diverse with various artists. They would meet and discus art, music, politics, philosophy etc some with more politics side others more entertainment. 

My thoughts

While the salons in themselves are a fascinating subjects this book focused more about the people at specific salons. There were a lot of detail about the hosts, hostesses and guest  in a way that at times felt a bit gossipy. I would personally had liked to know more about the wider social context and their impact on the arts and politics. That being said it is very well written so despite me not resonating with the focus it was still enjoyable to read. 

What it did show was the interconnectedness of the salons in the different countries. People traveling from one place to another would get invited to the local salons even in times when their respective countries were at war with another. 

Still a lot of it just felt like rich people amusing themselves in a way that didn't affect anything real.

Sewing a summer jacket: part one Zero waste pattern

 A while ago I bought a sewing book with patterns designed to leave no fabric scraps. Considering the amount of scarps I have leftover from other projects this seemed like a good solution.  

So I'm going to try it and since I was planning to make a summer jacket anyway this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I will say I think this is an excellent book for beginners or people making things out of thrifted fabrics like tablecloths where you have to conserve fabric. My struggles with it mostly stem from me using a dress-pattern to make a jacket.

In general most of the patterns are of a loose fit made for people with different proportions than me. The way the pattern is made with all the pieces fitting neatly into a square means that the length of the sleeves determine the width of the body. Hence the loose fit and three quarter sleeves where I wanted a tight fit and long sleeves. But I found the pattern closest to what I wanted and set to alter it to my measurements and needs. 

Considering all the uncertainties I managed to talk myself into actually making a mock up, a test out of cheep fabric. This is good practice and something I should be doing more. However it also adds to the fabric waste, although this fabric was an old bed sheet that my cats had ripped up and I'd already assigned it to my rag rug project.

Since there isn't a paper pattern to copy I needed to measure it out using a ruler. But since it's all straight lines its not that hard.  And, no I did not iron it before but it doesn't matter if it's not perfect. 

I put it together with clips rather than sewing it because there is a limit to how much time I wan't to spend on this. Putting it on I learned a few things. First it gave my wizard robe wibes which I don't hate. Second the sleeves could be a bit longer, they are just barely long enough but I want to have a margin for seam-allowance and stuff. Third the pattern does not give the shape I want. But this can be solved by pleats. 

I decided to do some adjustments with slightly thinner sleeves and slightly shorten hem. Once I'd learned what I could it was time to try it on the proper fabric. This is a stiff black cotton that I bought at a thrift-store a while ago. Almost immediately I realized that since the end fabric was thicker and stiffer than the test it did not behave like the test. 

It stretching uncomfortable in the back of the neck where the fabric is just straight. I solved this by cutting out a bit turning it into an arch. For this I used parts from a coat pattern that I have.

There is also some weird folds around the arms which needed some strategic pleats to fix. In general this has become a lesson in how far you can stretch a pattern before it would have been easier to just use a different one. 

Still it looked decent enough so I sewed it together and then got started on the pleats which is what will give it a shape. I'm thinking boxpleats and making a thing of it. 

After far to long adjusting them I sewed the pleats together and ironed them open. I'll sew them down later when I'm sure I won't have to unpick them. Instead I turned my attention to the front and the collar. Mostly how I didn't like it since the collar was just straight. So I'm taking the collar from the pattern from before mostly since it matches the part I cut from the back. In order for this to fit though I needed to cut a bit of the front.  I then stitched the collar and lapels together pressing the seams. These pieces and the front lining I cut out from the same fabric though these were not part of the neat square pattern and there was some scraps left over from this. But in even with this there were still far less scraps than normally so while it wasn't zero waste it was low waste. Also these will all be used for my rug so that's fine. I then stitched everything on unfortunately breaking a needle in the process.

At this point the jacket is about half way done it still needs a lining and I'm debating if I want to buy new fabric or use what I have. It's also going to have embroidery so that's up next once I have decided how they should look.

Artificial condition by Martha Wells

This is the second book in the Murderbot diaries here is my review of the first one All systems red.

Plot

Having left the people who bought Murderbot from the Company, they they decide to travel to the mining station were it all began. Where it hacked themself, went on a killing spree and named themself Murderbot, not necessarily in that order. To get there they hitch a ride with ART a research ship far more intelligent than they thought who insists on helping Muderbot after some threats. 

At the mining station they take a job as security guard to get a travel pass. Working for a group of researcher trying to get back data that was stolen from them. something that turns out to be just as dangerous as Murderbot thought it would be.

My thoughts

The friendship between Murderbot and Art is one of the highlights. Basically ART (not their name it's just what Murderbot calls them) is a bot piloted ship owned by a university. They are a know it all, giver of unwanted advice and the extroverted friend Murderbot needs. 

In the first book Murderbot only interacted with humans which they did as little as possible. In this one though we see them interacting with a lot more bots, besides ART there is a Comfortunit (similar in structure to Secunits like Murderbot but without the weapons). Murderbot tells Art that bots can't trust each others since they always have to obey humans orders. Despite this its clear that they do trust bots more than humans probably because they can't force them to do something. 

I kind of like that the mystery of what happened to make Murderbot free themselves was so pointless. There was no great conspiracy just people being greedy and underestimating dangers, stupid choices that lead to horrifying consequences. 

Save money #4 thoughts on discounts

Buying things on discount is a usual way for people to save money and that makes sense. If you pay less for things you save money. However it's not really that simple and I'm going to talk about it because relying on discounts might loose you money in the long run.

To begin with why does companies offer discounts?

Get rid of products

Getting you into the store

Getting your data

Promoting impulse buys.

Getting rid of products.

This is when the store knows that they can't sell the item at full price but that it's either easier for them to sell it than to throw it away or they are hoping to re coupe some of their losses. 

Examples of this include: out of season items like Christmas decoration in January, food nearing the last sell by date, everything in a store that is moving or closing or when the store has just a few things left in a batch and they don't want to make room for new stock.   

The discount for these are usually significant starting at 30% but I have seen up to 80%. 

You have a good opportunity to save money here assuming the thing is something you actually need. But there's often a reason why these things couldn't be sold full price. 

Getting you into the store

It's quite common for some stores to always have discounts on some of their items. Most grocery stores will do this where there every week will be new items sold at a discount. The idea is that by having a discount on one thing you need you will buy other things while you are there. This is the same as getting the first month for free when you sign up for a streaming service. 

The discounts here usually aren't that good. It's also common for the price of something to be advertised as a discount but just be regular or there are similar products that are cheaper. 

In general if you know what the regular prices are and don't get carried away you can save some money here but it wont be much.

Getting your data

Similar to the previous the store is hoping that a small loss now will make a profit in the long rum. Things like 10% of if you sign up for a newsletter or a membership where the aim is for them to be able to advertise to you. Still not great discounts but there is nothing stopping you from getting it and then close down whatever you signed up for. Being constantly sent ads wont help you save money.

Promoting impulse buys 

This is things like few percents of to get you to try a new product rather than what you usually gets.

This won't save you money, because the products probably isn't thing you need and the discount is still well within the profit margins. Making you think you are getting a good limited time deal to make you buy something. 

In general the way to use discounts is to not buy things you don't need even if they are cheap. It's also useful to know or look up what a product should cost. I have noticed that branded items even with the discount often are more expensive than store-brand products.