When Soap Gets too Sweet

For years, Bath and Body Works has created some of the best smelling soap.  Mostly sold in the America, its soap/shower gel/sanitizer has some crazy followings that people from all over the world have made a stop to stock up on the soaps when they come to America.

It has now come to Asia in select places (albeit at a jacked up price).  One of my minions spotted it in the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore at the gift shop, at $30 SGD for a shower gel that normally costs $10.50 USD.

However, some of its products are just too sweet to actually use.  My dear owner discovered this when he brought back a good stash of hand sanitizer to Hong Kong.  He had been using it for years without much problem, and really enjoyed the smell.  However he discovered some problems when ants started showing up on his desk.

Under some papers there would be ants.  Not very many, but seemingly in a straight line, like they had somewhere to go.  My owner immediately cut off the food supply, not that he was actively eating in his room.  Gone were little snacks (fully wrapped and not opened), and other sort of things.  The table was wiped with soap in case of any trace of crumbs.  Yet weeks later the ants still appeared.  What could be so appealing?

It was only until my owner decided to clean off the whole desk that he discovered the problem.  The ants were still active as he moved from one section to the next.  Then he found the culprit- hand sanitizer.  As he moved it from one area, he saw ants approach it, then leave... normally ants are not fans of alcohol, but let's take a look at the product description from the website: 


Anti-Bacterial PocketBac™ Deep Cleansing Hand Gel
Nectarine Mint


Spread love, not germs. This pocket-sized bottle contains natural ingredients and powerful germ killers that, wherever you go, get hands clean and lightly scented with the mouthwatering fragrance of juicy nectarine, grapefruit, sugar, and crisp mint leaves. 


Nectarine, sugar, and grapefruit?!?!?  No wonder the ants were all over this stuff.  The smell of the open bottle was so alluring and convincing that the ants came to scout.  However, once they arrived to the bottle, they would realize that they were deceived, but not before they polluted my owner's desk with their annoying presence.

Once discovered to be the problem, my owner then promptly took the hand sanitizer and threw it away, and the ants have since dissapeared.  In short, hand sanitizer is good, some fruit smell maybe good, but when it smells too much like honey and fruits, then you have a problem.  Or perhaps it is a success for Bath and Body Works, given that even ants were fooled by its soap?

The Right Pair of Sunglasses

So what is the right pair of sunglasses?  Well it really depends who you are, and what you want them for.  However, the key is to find a pair that looks good on you, suits your needs, and is comfortable.

Lenses:

In terms of the lenses, there are really 3 choices out there:

1. Glass
2. Polycarbonate
3. Regular Plastic (mostly CR-39)

(Other materials are acrylic, trivex, polyurethane, but not as common so we'll ignore them here)



Glass: 
Some of the high end manufacturers use this.  It offers the best view, as there is no distortion in the lens.  It is durable and does not scratch easily.  My owner likes to wear them when he goes outside for a walk.  The glass does need to be taken care of-- don't drop it!  That will cause the glass to shatter-potentially very bad the shards of glass gets into the eye or skin.  Some manufactuers will use tempered glass which is 5 times stronger than regular glass and breaks into little pebbles and thus eliminating the danger of sharp edges. 

Pros: Best optical clarity (no distortion), most scratch resistant
Cons: Heavy, can shatter

 Alfie, one of Weebee's minions, wears Persol 2342/S with tempered glass.

Polycarbonate:
The choice for the sporty type.  Thin, light, comfortable, and impact resistant.  You can step on the lens and it won't break.  A 0.38 bullet or a 12 gauge shotgun blast from 10 yards won't penetrate it (not that you should try)   A famous brand worn by Olympians, Bolle claims its polycarbonate lenses are 20 times the strength of glass, and a third of the weight.  My owner only uses Bollé for sport activities.  Some distortion, but you really don't notice.  These do scratch easily (and thus lose the UV protection), though usually good brands put on a scratch resistant coat to help a bit. 

Pros: Thin, light, very strong (impact resistant)
Cons: Scratches easily, view distortion

Alfie wears Bollé Warrant sunglasses, one of the most technologically advanced in the Bollé collection.  Wrap around curved lenses provide excellent peripheral vision.


Regular Plastic:
The most common of any sunglasses you find with street vendors and other stores.  Cheap, and around everywhere.  The problem with these is that they don't always absorb all the UV light, so my owner does not have any (well at least I haven't seen him wear any).

Pros: Little distortion (better than Polycarbonate but not as good as glass)
Cons: Still can break or shatter (though better than glass).  Light and thin

_____________________________________________________________________________

Since you don't have amazing eyes like the great Weebee, it is recommended that you choose either high end sunglasses with either polycarbonate or glass lenses.  You want protection from UVA and UVB, so it has to be 100% protected from that.  As for polarized lenses, which reduce glare- its a matter of preference.  Polarized lenses are more expensive, and are recommended them unless you're a pilot or captain of a ship (yachting included), or any other role where you have to look at some LED screen as polarized lenses make those screens blurred or invisible.


Brands:
For those fashion minded, choosing a brand can be important.  Zegna, D&G, Prada, YSL, Chanel, and  Burberry come to mind, as do the more eyewear focused Persol and Ray-Ban. However, just like laptops (oh you didn't know your "different" MacBook is made by the same firm that makes laptops for Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo and others?), all top brand sunglasses are made by a handful of companies, and mainly Luxottica & Safilo.   Focus instead on getting sunglasses that look good on you, and not the latest model of "top tier" brand.

Frames: 

Material: Nylon, metal, plastic, etc.  Really depends on what you like and what you will be using them for.  If you are going biking then you would not want sunglasses with a metal frame.
 
Shape: This is one of the most important parts in choosing sunglasses.  Make sure the frame compliments your face, while staying comfortable and big enough to cover most of your eyes.  In the picture above, Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio sports a round aviator.   Looking great (as supermodels always do), but the aviators actually highlight her long face.  Now compare that look with another pair of YSL Sunglasses at the left. Hot to VERY HOT.  The wider, more rectangular frames help balance her long face and create an amazing look.  Good to Great.

Here are some links to determine your face shape and what frames to get:

Frames Direct: Best website I've found for face shape (also includes names of famous celebs)

Allaboutvision: Another choosing the right shape (and color)

AOL Style: Face shape with more celebs (though only lists 4 and not as good as the other two above)




That covers it.  Happy hunting!


Other links:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-tempered-glass.htm
http://www.adseyewear.com/lensmat.php
http://www.allaboutvision.com/sunglasses/polarized.htm
http://www.sporteyes.com/faq.htm#how
http://jewelry.about.com/od/accessory/a/sunglasses.htm
http://www.opticsplanet.net/bolle-sunglasses-info.html

Why Amex Rules

I will be leaving the country for a bit, and I wanted to make sure that I don't receive any more letters from credit card companies talking about how I can do a balance transfer, get a new vacation, or win some grand prize. Here's what happened:

I call American Express (or Amex) to do this. No problem at all, in fact they will even email me a confirmation saying that everything has changed, and they can do it on all of my 3 accounts at Amex in one call. Wonderful I think.

Citibank is next. Well that's a pain. The first time I call them they say they will do it, then low and behold a month later I get another mail saying I can get a 0% APR on transferred balances. Well this apparently is for my other Citi credit card. Well that's great- didn't I specifically say cancel everything on all cards? Worse they said they couldn't give me an confirmation. However this time I call, and they say they can give me an email confirmation. We'll see if that pops up in the next 24 hours.

Next up is Discover. They can cancel except one caveat- they can't email the confirmation. What? Are you serious? Oh but they can fax it. Well lucky for me I do have a fax number. I guess fax away. Still no Amex service, but I can't complain.

Then I call Chase. Oh this is just terrible. The guy on the line tells me that it will take 90 days- yes 3 whole months before the process is stopped. WHATTT???!?! That's like when hell freezes over. Oh did I mention they can't email me either? Or fax? Oh but they can mail me- yes mail me a statement in the next 10-14 business days saying they have canceled everything. The whole point was to not get anymore mail and they will now mail me a statement saying they won't mail me stuff anymore. Wonderful. Whoever is running IT there really needs to push for an upgrade. Wasn't there the whole hoopla about Dimon upgrading the tech system?

Quote from "In This Corner! The Contender" (Fortune)

"On a Saturday in mid-February 2004, a month after the Bank One deal was announced, Dimon brought together the top IT people. He dazzled them with his grasp of protocols and software costs, then told the managers to choose a single platform in any area where multiple systems were in place. "If you don't do it in six weeks," he warned, "I'll make all the choices myself."

The IT managers met the deadline. Now, for example, J.P. Morgan has just one system for credit cards. The new platform, called TSYS, has helped bring down the bank's annual cost of processing statements to $52 per customer from $80. That makes J.P. Morgan one of the most efficient operators in the industry."


Next is Capital One.  Clearly not as well staffed (then again I'm calling on  Tuesday night at 11pm), as I'm put on hold for over 10 minutes (the others were all immediate after putting in the credit card details, personal details, etc) before I finally get a rep.  Well looks like they can't email me anything either, but the person seems much more courteous that the person from Chase.  Then again maybe luck of the draw.   They can't mail anything either- and it takes two billing cycles, but the person on the phone gave me a number, and combined with the date I should be able to track the conversation, which is today, May 18,  det564.  By this time after going through a horrible Chase experience my expectations are much lower, so I was ready to call it a night.

In short, there's a reason why I've been with Amex for so long.  It was my first credit card when I was a student in New York with a (gasp!) $600 credit limit, which later to upgraded multiple times where I could buy a nice used car.  I've stuck with them, and they have stuck with me.  The only flaw?  Europe only takes Visa or Mastercard.  So looks like I'll need to keep my other cards.

The Barbour Sapper Jacket

Hello there!  Weebee's Owner here.  With the raining season of April apparently not over in May, I've decided to talk a trusty companion that I have had last year and have been wearing for this season to battle the spring elements.  I got this last year after reading a GQ article on it.  In the midst of the "great recession" spending wisely was very important.  I debated an hour or so in the Barbour store in New York with a friend before ultimately deciding to get it.  It ended up being one of the best purchases I've ever made.  I'll give some examples of why a bit later:

Barbour Flyweight Wax Sapper (shown in olive, and the one I recommend)

Link to view jacket at official Barbour site

You can read the fancy GQ profile on it, of how the jacket was designed for the trenches during WWII and the engineers wearing it who dug the tunnels were called "saps", and how there is a hidden hood or corduroy neck and cuffs that absorb the rain.  However I'll give you two real world examples in the modern day of how good this jacket is:

Had just finished showering (hair still wet and all), and I decided to go outside to get something from the grocery store.  I grabbed the Barbour jacket and headed downstairs.  I was downstairs in my apartment lobby when I saw that it was raining heavily outside.  Instead of going back to get an umbrella I figured I would just zip up my jacket and go- hey good time to test how waterproof it is right?   It was late at night and pitch black, but I could see from the headlights of the cars that were driving by on the busy streets in New York.

I could see the pouring rain as the headlights illuminated the street, yet I didn't feel a thing!  Not a thing.  I knew it was raining on me, but it was quite surreal as I could see but not feel anything. 
Water did not seep in through the sides so I I wasn't wet at all, and I guess my hair was wet and nothing was getting into my face as the rain came at a slight angle, so I just didn't notice.

What really came as a shock was that a minute later I see my roommate coming back with a huge umbrella over him.  You know, those super large ones they use for golfing.   I ask him "Why do you have an umbrella?"  He looks at me blankly and says "Uh, its pouring rain."  Oh right, it is raining, I just don't feel a thing.

The second time I saw my jacket in action when I was having brunch outside at a Mexican restaurant.  I was wearing my jacket, and I was rearranging some dishes I accidently spilled salsa on the forearm part of my jacket.  I gasped as I had bought this coat only a week ago!  I quickly rushed to get paper towels to wipe in off.  Then I noticed something amazing.  The salsa just came off as I wiped it.  With a couple of wipes it was like the salsa was never there.   I was so amazed that I had to try it again-same result.  If salsa just rolls off it, rain doesn't stand a chance.  In fact, when someone says their coat is waterproof I often take my jacket out and have them pour salsa on it (it takes quite a bit of convincing) to show them how waterproof the jacket really is.  Then I offer to pour salsa on their "waterproof" jacket and of course they decline lacking the same confidence in their own jacket!

It's no wonder that Barbour is worn by the British Royal Family- it is the only apparel firm to have three royal warrants (Burberry only has two).  The thing is amazing for hunting/digging trenches in the rain or of course regular people like me who will be traveling to and from work on a rainy day.  The jacket is obviously perfect for the outdoors but looks great over a suit as well (it covers my entire suit jacket).  I like it better than a trench coat, as it is much lighter and more flexible and repels water as opposed to most trench coats that merely absorb the water (though you could get a wax cotton trench).

It was a bit pricey yes, but it has paid for it self several times over.  Cleaning is easy- you just stick it in cold water and hang it to dry.  (Do NOT dry clean, use soap, or a washing machine-that will actually ruin the jacket).  When the wax starts to wear out- you can either buy a can of Barbour Thornproof Dressing for $12 and re-wax it yourself (not recommended for city dwellers with no space) or just send it to the nearest Barbour store to get it done for a nominal fee (I paid around $30 for mine).  That's all the maintenence you need to last for generations!


So in summary:

Pros:
Great value to last for a lifetime
Waterproof to a whole new level
Lightweight and flexible for any occasion


Cons:
Wax smell
Price is high

Some say the wax might get on other things (bag, seats), but I 've never had this problem.  I think the wax is an acquired smell- I don't even notice it anymore.

It is expensive at $400 USD, but worth every penny.  If you're in America instead of buying in an American store near you can buy it online from a UK website (One is www.outdoorandcountry.co.uk).  Even with shipping, the exchange rate now will allow you to save around $100.  That's already 25% off.


GQ article here:
Link to GQ website detail Barbour and other "Built to last" items

The Wonderful World of Weebee

Good day everyone!  This is the first post on my new blog.  I decided to start the blog after my owner was accepted to a university for business school.  I, the great Weebee, can not sleep well due to my owner jumping up and down.  Weebee's slumber is important, and thus the great Weebee has been getting frustrated and has retreated to sleeping on his hammock and making his fluffies keep thing steady so he can get his 20 hours of sleep like a koala.  In the four hours that I am awake, I've decided to start a blog detailing things that I have observed.