What's Wrong With Curly Hair Anyway?

Recently, I had a realization.

I was born with naturally curly hair. Ever since I was 6 yrs. old my hair hasn't been allowed to be naturally curly. It's always been in braids or straightened. Now it's time for another straightening session and I just don't want to do it anymore! Well, at least not for a while.

I would love to wear my hair curly but I know that my Mom (who helps me with my massive hair) won't go for it unless I address a few key points, and list the pros and cons.

I've been doing some research on curly hair tonight and here's what I've uncovered:

Main Point 1: The reason why most black girls (yes, I'm black for those of you that haven't caught on or know me!) don't wear their hair naturally is that when it dries, it frizzes and puffs up.
1. You're not supposed to comb curly hair while it's dry! (and you're not supposed to comb straight hair when it's wet).
2. You're really not supposed to shampoo every time that you wash your hair. Every other time in fine. In between you use conditioners (shower conditioners and leave-in ones)

General Rule: Don't use hair products that have alcohol in them. Don't use any type of brush at all on curly hair. Only wide toothed combs.

Interesting fact: Curly hair is often dry.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. If you have curly hair, one consistently good website that I have found is NaturallyCurly.com

Peace and curls!

ZB24

P.S. Wish me luck in convincing my mom to assist me in this curly mission. ;-) I'll post and let you know how it goes.

DLST EXTENDED 4 WEEKS

HI! I got this email from Microsoft saying that DLST has been extended by four weeks. Pretty important information because can can throw off some computers and set top boxes and stuff.

Dear Valued Microsoft Customer,

This year Daylight Saving Time (DST) extends by approximately four weeks. In compliance with this provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, DST dates in the United States and Canada will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November).

In some instances, effort will be required to accommodate the new DST legislation. For example, systems and applications may need to be updated directly, while in other circumstances the application may inherit the date and time information from the underlying system.

Microsoft is committed to helping customers that are affected by the DST changes make this transition as seamless as possible. Microsoft is producing updates for Windows products as well as other Microsoft products affected by the new U.S. statute. These updates will be released through technical support channels including Microsoft Customer Service & Support (CSS), as well as online channels such as Windows Update and Microsoft Update.

Details of the updates for Microsoft Windows and affected Microsoft applications, how customers can acquire them and when they will be available can be found on the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007 . Corresponding technical Knowledge Base articles are linked from this website as well.

Microsoft is providing the Time Zone updates at no-cost for customers on Windows platforms that are covered by Mainstream Support. For more information on the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy including options available for products in Extended Support, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle .

Further Assistance

Microsoft values your business. For more information visit http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007 , or contact Microsoft for assistance. A list of phone numbers is located at http://support.microsoft.com. Microsoft Premier Customers may engage their Technical Account Manager directly.

Please DO NOT REPLY to this email as this is not a monitored inbox. If you have questions/inquiries please visit http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007

This e-mail is intended for distribution within the United States. Please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary for similar offerings outside the US.

I copied it directly from the email, BTW.

Crappy Clippy Croaks (Finally)

YAY! That little paper clip thing is finally dead! No more of this:

Here's a link to where I found the article: CHIP CHICK .com
My Dad personally hates this little paper clip thingy so when I told him he was like, "Thank Goodness! That little piece of crap! It always pops up when you don't need it."

I read here that people didn't miss the paperclip but the were wondering where the dog (an optional substitute) went. The whole thing is pretty funny if you ask me!

ZB24

My Firefox Extensions

Hi! For those of you reading this blog who use Firefox, you might be wondering what extensions I use and recommend. Well, here's the official list!

BlueOrganizer - This little application is useful for categorizing what you have (games, toys, books, CD's) and what you want. I don't use it, but it's fun to twiddle with if you have some free time. I only keep it installed because I have an account there and because I might want to use it one day.
Download Helper - Now this little thingy is a whole reason to use Firefox just so you can use this extension! It allows you to download videos from youtube or other websites where there is no dedicated download button. It downloads them in FLV format though so make sure that you have a converter or FLV player (most people don't!). I use Videora iPod Video Converter for my conversions but it only converts to MPEG4 (Quicktime). You might want to find another one if you don't like Quicktime or have an iPod.
FoxyTunes - This is an application that lets you control iTunes from within Firefox. It's not an essential, but it is handy. You could just press ctrl+M to put iTunes in MiniMode and then let it rest on top of your windows, but a lot of people like foxytunes. This might not work well for small low resolution screens though.
Foxytunes Skin - iControlsFT - Just a skin for FoxyTunes that matches my Safari Skin I downloaded.
Gmail Manager - Allows me to easily check all 7 of my gmail accounts at the same time or separately. Useful for those that only have one account, too.
Google Notebook - Another one that I don't use a lot and should probably uninstall. If you use Google notbook, it is a good extension.
Google Toolbar For Firefox - I use it for the search box mostly. The built in spellcheck was useful until Firefox built one in. Get it for the spellcheck if you're still using Firefox 1.5.
IE Tab - Lies to websites and tells them that you're using IE7 when you're really using Firefox so they'll display media and layouts correctly (if they're not already). I have to use this in Blogger sometimes when editing the layout and in AOL Video. This is an extension that every firefox user should have!
Image Zoom - I don't use this but I downloaded it because MAXIMUM PC said it was a good extension. I tested it, it does seem to work okay, and could be useful if you really want to see an image in a web page better. Before you ask me, it does not zoom in on video. At least not in youtube.
Performancing - It allows you to make blog post from within the browser instead of within the web page. Works with the new version of Blogger (as you can in my previous post). The only gripe I had was that you can't apply lables to posts from within the extension. I personally like working on the website better. If you have multiple blogs, it might be useful. I think you can use it for more then one.
Sage - RSS reader I rarely use. I wish it would have a little display to tell you if there are new entries. I don't use RSS a lot, but the reader itself seems to be okay if you're into RSS Feeds.
Tab Catalog - This is really neat to look at. I would like to use it if I can just remember! Here's a screenshot, because it's just too hard to describe.

sorry it's scaled down. Clikcing on the picture will give you a larger view:


Tab Catalog:
Basically, it gives you a screenshot of each tab an you can click on the screenshot and it'll take you to the tab.
Tab Effect - This one is just totally unnecessary but totally cool! When you switch from one tab to another it does this little cube effect transition. Here's a link to the extension's page: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/4258/
URL Fixer - If you accidentally type google.vom (for example) it will correct your mistake and take you to google.com. This is another essential. Saves quite a bit of time because you don't have to navigate away from the page, google search, or re-type to correct your mistake.

There you go! ZB24's Firefox Extensions. I hope you found it interesting.

ZB24

Testing Performancing

Hi ya, this is a test. I've got this new performancing extension for Firefox, and I'm just seeing if it works. I wish that I could find a way to apply the labels.


powered by performancing firefox

Streaming Videos Not Playing? I've got a tip for that!

Here's a quick tip to make web video play smoothly. I've got some pictures so you know what all the buttons and status bars look like.

If you have a slow internet connection, press pause:

Next, wait for the status bar to tell you that the video is loaded all the way. Like in this picture:

Take note how the bar changed from black to red. Red mean loaded, BTW.

After it loads. You can press play and it should play without pauses!

Also, in google video. The bar goes from light grey to dark grey.

Happy Video Streaming!

ZB24

Hoobastank - Live - First of Me

Hi!

Hoobastank is my new favorite band. I found this video of them on youtube singing live. They sound great! I just thought I would post it here so you can see them.

This song is on their "Every Man For Himself" Album. Enjoy!



ZB24

Football

the super bowl kickoff show just started, maybe I'll make a post later about the commercials.

I read that the companies were asking youtube people to make commercials and submit them. User created commercials. I don't like football very much so, I'm only watching for the commercials.

and CIRQUE DU SOLEIL! they're supposed to perform. I may have already missed it because I don't know what time zone that is but, I sure hop i didn't: CIRQUE
Happy Super Bowl.

Stay tuned, there might be more from me later!

ZB24