I'll connect the dots my own way...

Dr. Jart BB Cream - Review + Pics

2009-07-11T16:12:00.001-07:00

I'm lazy (there, I said it!) But not lazy enough to walk out of the house looking like I just rolled out of bed. I'm also not one of those people who have perfect skin, unfortunately. I too suffer from uneven skin tone and blemishes. In the search for a foundation for a simple makeup routine, I found BB Cream.

What exactly is BB cream?

Short BB cream review

BB is short for Blemish Balm, and BB cream acts as a foundation / makeup base that soothes and regenerates the skin. It also has a thicker consistency so it conceals skin tone imperfections better than tinted moisturizers. It may have sounded too good to be true when I read about it online, but when I was in Korea for a visit last winter, I made sure to pick up some Dr. Jart Black Label BB Cream to try it out.

At the time, new breakouts were wreaking havoc on my skin. I don't consider myself to have bad skin, but it's not great either. Whenever I break out, even when the pimple subsides I usually inherit an additional dark spot on my face which take months to fade. Since the breakouts kept coming, pretty soon, dark spots formed constellations upon my cheek which was laced with a scattering of new pimple bumps making my skin look pretty awful nude.

And so I tried Dr. Jart. That was a great idea. I first noticed that my face was not as oily as it was before, which was awesome. It makes my pores look smaller/invisible and covers my uneven skin tone and light blemishes pretty well (for those big ones I have to dab a little concealer). I initially rotated between this and the Shiseido foundation I was previously using, but I eventually used BB cream exclusively because it was so easy to blend and use. It comes out of a squeeze out tube, I slap it onto my face, and within a minute I am done and ready to go. No mess, no hassle. Dr. Jart is rated as one of the better BB creams, and the Black Label has a "unique triple action formula...[that] aims at covering skin imperfections, concealing blemishes, and activating skin rejuvenation. It also smoothes wrinkles and fine lines while providing sun protection to skin." I'm starting to sound like an infomercial, but if you're on the fence, I highly recommend you try some!

The downside is that if you're darker-skinned than the general Asian, the color will probably not suit your skin tone. For reference, I am a MAC NC20/25 and the Black Label matches me pretty well. I've used it for about 6 months or so, and I have a lot fewer breakouts now. With it on, my skin just looks naturally even-toned and blemish free according to people around me (little do they know, ha ha!)

Reviews + pics by other users

Whenever I look for makeup reviews, I like to see how it actually looks on someone instead of commercial picture ads or swatches on a hand. As I am not brave enough, and also too lazy, to post pics of myself online, I shall link you to some good ones I've found of Dr. Jart users. Black Label is meant for dry/normal skin and is slightly darker than the Silver Label, which is meant for oily/combination skin.

Other BB cream brands

Lastly, there are a lot of BB creams out there. I happened to choose Dr. Jart Black Label because it was the first one that matched my skin tone. Since it works great, I'm sticking with it. For those of you who want to find out a little more on other brands, hop on over to these massive forum discussions all about BB Cream at soompi and cozycot.

Where to buy Dr. Jart

If you're in the US, you can get Dr. Jart directly through its website. I also have some sample packets lying around I'm willing to part with if shipping costs are covered. Probably most worth it for US readers (do I even have any? he he). Regardless, leave a comment with your email and maybe we can work something out if you're interested!

Getting LaTeX on OS X Leopard

2009-06-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

When space is important, here is a way to get LaTeX on OS X with a small footprint (~50MB).
Credit: MacTeX

1) Download BasicTeX.
This will install a small subset of TeX Live on your system, but the small subset is remarkably capable, with TeX, LaTeX, pdfTeX, AMS-LaTeX, ConTeXt, XeTeX, etc.

2) Download TeXShop.

I also highly recommend LaTeXit, a program that quickly typesets LaTeX equations into PDFs. It does require Ghostscript and a few other dependencies, which is a 1-click install with a dmg file found here.

Best review sites on the internet

2009-05-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Whenever you want to make a purchase, it's usually a good idea to read reviews on the product you are about to buy. Sure, there usually is a return policy, but why not save yourself the hassle? Plus, some stores may have a lovely restocking fee of 15% or so, don't let the stores get you on that!

Here's a short compilation of trustworthy review sites:

Audiovisual equipment: AVSForum
Beauty: Makeupalley
Computer hardware: Tom's Hardware | Newegg
Digital cameras: Dpreview
Gadgets: Gadgeteer
Laptops: Notebookreview
Local restaurants: Yelp
Movies: Rotten Tomatoes
Restaurants: Zagat
Everything else: Amazon or Google

Internet searching made easy

2009-05-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Best free search engines when google is not enough (according to me, of course):

Megaupload: 4megaupload
Songs: Imeem
Stock Photos: Everystockphoto
Torrents: Scrapetorrent

Guide to smart online shopping

2009-05-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

As we're moving towards being an electronic society, more and more of us are starting to shop online. The variety of goods available online and the ease of having things shipped to your door is unquestionable. If you'd like to make the most of your online shopping, here are a couple of tips you should consider.

Rebates for online shopping

If you're shopping online anyways, you might as well get some money back while doing so. Whenever you shop through a link from a cashback site (e.g. Ebates), you get a % of your purchase back. This is not a scam, you really do get money back (based on personal experience).

So how do you go about it? You can first learn about how many different cashback sites there are and how they can pay you. Here is a nice overview of the major sites out there. You can then sign up for one, a few, or all of them to take advantage of the best % rate.

Once you have your account(s), you can check reb8r.com which organizes the major cashback sites and their links into a concise table. It compares the current rates so you know at a glance which site gives you the most back. The links are already compiled for you, so you don't have to go searching through each individual site for the click through link.

Rebates for using credit cards

Usually when shopping online, the most popular method of payment is via a credit card. There are a ton of credit cards out there that offer you rewards for spending money. You've probably heard of the airline reward cards, but honestly, if you have to pay an annual fee, you won't reap the benefits unless you spend a *ton*.

Remember that there are a lot of cards out there that don't require an annual fee. These usually give you ~1% back, so you might as well use them if you're shopping online. Now, I'm not condoning that you get these credit cards if you usually carry a balance -- you should pay off your balance and only spend what you can afford. That way, you'll get the most bang for your buck instead of wasting it on paying back interest.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Blue Cash from American Express - 1.25% back after you've spent $6,500/year, which is slightly more than the 1%. I like to put big electronics purchases on here because Amex extends your manufacturer's warranty by a year.
Here's a scenario: you buy a TV that comes with a 1 year warranty. Something happens to your TV <2 years later. Instead of going "oh %$#^!" you contact Amex and they'll cut you a check for the cost of your TV!
Chase Amazon Visa - 3% at Amazon, 1% elsewhere ($25 gift cert for every 2500pts). This one makes sense if you shop through Amazon a lot (which I do, they have quick shipping and almost everything I need from an online store).
Capital One Rewards - 1%. This one is nice because if you travel internationally, they do not charge you a currency conversion fee like other cards which is about 3%.

There are so many more, check here for a nice consolidation of possible credit cards to get. The posters are also very active, so check out the discussions on each thread as well.

One last slightly related note, if you're renting an apartment, you can sometimes pay your rent with a credit card! That's usually a nice, easy way to rack up points on money you have to spend anyways.

How to generate a favicon easily

2009-05-05T22:47:00.001-07:00

iConvert - Convert uploaded image
Google converter - Grab favicon of any webpage you desire (put URL at the end of the link)

Domain name ideas - finding a place to call home

2009-05-05T20:39:00.001-07:00

It's time for you to find a domain and almost everything that you can think of has already been taken. Argh! What to do now? There are a few tools that may come in handy:

BustAName - You have a few keywords in mind, but you haven't had any luck trying various combinations. This site is the answer to your troubles - stick in all the words you can think of and it'll think of every possible combination for you. It even gives you synonyms if you'd like.

Domainr - You really want a specific word, but the .com version is out. This checks your word with variations of top-level domains (What are top-level domains? Seeing is worth a thousand words) Pretty nifty.

Installing Apache, PHP and MySQL on OS X Leopard for the lazy

2009-05-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a simple tutorial to get a running server and database on OS X Leopard. You'll need to download MySQL and Sequel Pro (a nice alternative to phpMyAdmin).

1. Open terminal to turn on PHP.

> Open server configuration file.
   [sudo pico /etc/apache2/httpd.conf]
> Find #LoadModule php5_module.
   [Ctrl + W, LoadModule php5]
> Uncomment by deleting #.
   [Backspace]
> Save changes.
   [Ctrl + O]

2. Install MySQL and change php.ini file.

> Install all packages in the *.dmg file.
> Copy over the default php.ini to actual file.
   [sudo cp /etc/php.ini.default /etc/php.ini]
> Open php.ini file.
   [sudo pico /etc/php.ini]
> Find mysql.default_socket.
   [Ctrl + W, mysql.default_socket]
> Change value to /tmp/mysql.sock
> Save changes. [Ctrl + O]

3. Install Sequel Pro. This will let you manage your MySQL database with ease. The default values to connect to your database are...host:localhost, user:root, password: [blank].

All right, you're set! Now let's turn on Apache and MySQL.

> Go to System Preferences -> Sharing -> check Web Sharing. (This turns on Apache)
> Go to System Preferences -> MySQL -> click Start MySQL Server button.

The default directory for your server lies in /Library/WebServer/Documents. If you want to change this, you'll need to edit the DocumentRoot variable in your server configuration file.

Just to be thorough, to view your site, just type localhost into your address bar, and voila!

Searching for free hosting - comparison between different website hosts

2009-05-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

The quest for a simple webhost proved arduous. I don't have many requirements for a host, just that it's free at first and reliable as far as uptime. While looking for a free webhost, I definitely encountered the good, the bad, and the awful. I finally chose 110mb.com.

The awful

x10hosting - At first glance, it looked like x10hosting was great. It had a lot of features and seemed very professional. But this place is ridiculous as far as downtime. Half the time, when I tried going to my webpage, I couldn't get through. When it did, it seemed ridiculously slow. We're talking about basic html files here, no php, no scripts.

The bad

Awardspace - It wasn't too bad at first. I uploaded a webpage, it displayed it as expected. However, for random reasons, certain webpages displayed properly, and others sent me to the default "your page is missing" courtesy of awardspace. The file will be sitting in the directory, but it won't display on the site.

Black Apple Host - I signed up for their services, but I noticed that they force you to put an ad on your website to recoup costs. If you're okay with that, they might work, but I fled pretty quickly.

Byet Host - I also tried signing up for Byet Host. At the time I tried, they had a buggy sign up script and wouldn't let me sign up for an account. So it was bye bye Byet Host.

Trap 17 - Although they offer free webhosting, they require you to post in the forums every 2 weeks or so to prove that you're still alive. If not, you'll have to stick an ad on your webpage. I didn't want to be bothered with posting in the forums, nor did I fancy the ad requirement. However, a lot of people do like trap17, so if frequent forum posting is not a problem for you, give them a shot.

The good

110mb.com - At first I shyed away from this place because they charge for specific features like FTP or database management. However, after my bad experiences with the other free webhosts, I decided to give 110mb a try. Finally.

It has good uptime, pages render quickly (in contrast to the other hosts which took anywhere from a few seconds to half a minute), so far, so good. If you want more features, you'll have to shell out some cash, but it's a 1-time cost in your lifetime. Until it irks me in some way unbeknownst to me now, I will stick with them.

Customize blogger layout - adding favicon, removing navbar, and more to your blog

2009-04-25T19:53:00.001-07:00

These tweaks will require you to modify your blogger template by going to Layout --> Edit HTML. I recommend backing up your template just in case something goes awry:

Adding your own favicon to blogger

Add a line under the title block for *.ico files:

<title><data:blog.pagetitle/></title>
<link href='favicon.ico' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/>

For *.png files:

<link href='favicon.png' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/png'/>

For *.gif files:

<link href='favicon.gif' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/gif'/>

Removing the navbar

Add css format above variable definitions:

#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}

/* Variable definitions

Adding additional widgets to header

Change maxwidgets to larger number, e.g. 3:

<div id="outer-wrapper">

<div id='header-wrapper'>
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='3'>

Adding "Read More..." to your blog

Nice, slightly complicated hack

Wireless networking - N router technology

2009-04-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

You already have a G router (rated at 54MBps), all your computers connect wirelessly to the internet without a problem. You don't really know what the G or 54 means, just that the router works fine. Why the fuss about the new Wireless N routers and the 300MBps transfer rate? I've also heard this question multiple times:

Our internet only connects at 6MBps. Why do I need 54MBps (G), or even 300MBps (N)?

Let's parse through the jargon, why it is important, and pick out some good N router hardware.

What data transfer rate really means

First, let's understand the transfer rate number. Let's take the G router for an example. What 54MBps indicates is that in the best case scenario, you can transfer at 54 Megabits per second. Do not confuse this with Megabytes (MBs), which is what we usually use in gauging the size of a file. There are 8 bits to a byte, so if you're thinking 54MBps means being able to transfer 54MBs in a second, think again -- you need to convert back to MBs.

Now, you get 54MBps transfer rate in a lab setting, but in a practical setting (when you plug in your router at home and have signals go through walls and such), you may only get 20-25MBps. This converts to a data transfer rate of only about 3MB/s. This is the bandwidth that you have. Still not too bad right?

Actually, if you have multiple computers connected, you have to share that bandwidth. So in reality, if you have two computers connected wirelessly, you would get a transfer rate of only 1.5MB/s for each computer. The more computers you have, the lousier your transfer rate becomes. This will start becoming a problem when you want to transfer large files such as videos between computers, hook up multiple systems including gaming systems like the Xbox 360 or PS3, or have a centralized media server that streams video and data to other computers on the network.

Looking for a good wireless N router

You've read the above and feel like wireless N is worth the upgrade for your network. The next logical question would be: which router should you get? Oh the choices! There are a few noteworthy ones I would recommend. The best rated N router is the D-Link DIR-655. It excels hands down in speed and features.

Close behind is its long lost twin, the TrendNet TEW-633GR.It has the same exact hardware with different loaded firmware, and is usually cheaper (a plus!). The DIR-655 is slightly faster, but not by much. If you think about it though, you'll probably use both the D-Link and TrendNet side by side, so the slight difference in speed won't matter much.

Here are some speed comparison reviews that show the difference:

Optimizing your network

When you connect to these routers, you can use wireless B/G/N cards. Keep in mind, if you truly want the best speed performance, you'll want to set the N router to use N mode only and connect with N cards. To get the computers with B/G cards on the network, you can link your G router to the N router and have the B/G cards connect to the G router instead. I'll cover this tutorial in another post!

The beginning.

2009-04-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

This blog is a means for organizing content important to me, and perhaps to you the reader. How many readers do I have anyway? *chuckle* Probably just you, a wanderer in the abyss of the internet. And maybe some friends who I've conned into coming here.

The internet is a double edged sword -- so much information at one's fingertips, but sometimes just too much information. I envision this blog being a one-stop place for information filtered for relevance in my (and maybe your) life. It will include informative posts on existing technology, recommended products for health and beauty, and useful tutorials organized by content. I have wandered the web too many times looking for specific information and not find what I need.

Feel free to poke around, leave a comment. Enjoy!