New Semester, New Food

So… The new student center is quite a riot. The Dining Room has been a huge change from last semester and I am glad to see that my tuition has gone to improve student morale through our stomachs. Some things have been recycled, like the waffle irons and toasters and even some things like the utensil holders. For the most part, there has been good changes. The “Grill” area has become a much more effective machine at shooting out burgers quickly and deliciously. The sandwich/deli area has become a meal-plan subsidized Subway of sorts. The pizza area now has a bonafide wood-fired pizza oven, rather than that conveyer belt oven.

This has made food taste better and good food always promotes good moods. Though the staff is not perfect, cause the new cafeteria does have its foibles. The pizza oven is not quite 100% mastered, ’cause there are sometimes where the pizza is bang-on perfect and it would give Red Brick Pizza a run for the money… While there are days that the quality is lacking in substance.

There’s also a return to my cafeteria buddies, folks like Drew, Penguin Commander, et al. Over my holiday break, I will admit, I missed them! However, there are some folks I have missed on linking up with… It’s good to be back with my lunch and dinner buddies. It helps ease the passing of the dull days when you have a companion to talk and vent to.

Thanks Texas A&M Commerce for putting some of our tuition to good use. Now… if you could do something fun like either make use of the new LCD HD-TV’s in the New Sam Rayburn Student Center or create an SAE Formula team… then I would be wickedly proud of the school I attend.

New Article at BerryTastic is Up!”What to do, What to do?”

The article is up for everyone’s enjoyment, if you want to see it… it’s here at this link: “What to do, What to do?”

For those of you who are a bit lazy at link jumping… click the “Read On” link here to check it out!
Continue reading New Article at BerryTastic is Up!”What to do, What to do?”

Bravo T-Mobile and Hooray for Me!

Almost a year ago… family had asked me to switch from at&t Wireless (formerly Cingular) to T-Mobile so they wouldn’t have to waste minutes on calling me. When I tried to do the switch, my credit was simply not good enough to snag my own line without a ridiculously huge deposit. I was devastated and at&t hiking rates on me was making me rather sick. It didn’t help that I was also recovering out of debt so my dinged up credit record wasn’t helping at all. So family stuck in and had said “Use one of our names and get your own line.” Which I did and I joined their ranks with T-Mobile…

However… This past December, family had said “You need to get your own line with T-Mobile, if you can’t… have fun losing your phone number”. That was something I couldn’t have happen as my phone is now my second life line other than the web. I had to get T-Mobile to do a “change of responsibility” to my account under my family’s name and see if I could get one in mine. They informed me that my account under their name had a full discount upgrade available and that by transferring responsibility to me, I would more than likely lose that and have to wait 30 days for a “partial upgrade discount”. I just decided to bite the bullet and see if my credit was able to pass me. Fortunate for me… My credit seems to have healed enough to qualify me for my own line. I decided to do the change of responsibility to ease my family’s burden of supporting me and I just went with knowing that I probably lost my upgrade.

However… Today, on trying to pay my dissapearing final bill over the phone with T-Mobile… I found an interesting revelation from my dialogue with the representative:

Zero: I wanted to know how long before my account is able to do a full discount upgrade? I had heard from a few reps in-store and over the phone that I would more than likely lose it and start from square one.

Rep: Actually Zero, your account seems to have gotten that upgrade discount transferred! Did you have a question over that?

Zero: Is it a full discount? The reason I ask is because I am rather excited for the Blackberry Curve 8900 coming to T-Mobile on 2/11/09.

Rep: I am showing it is a full device discount should you decide to do a 2 year agreement. I will say that I am glad you’re excited about the Curve 8900 coming to T-Mobile and I hope that we hear from you again when the time comes for you when you do choose to get the new 8900!

I will say that the outstanding customer service that T-Mobile has is the reason I don’t want to change providers. The “Death Star” had failed to even answer simple questions with the amount of zeal that T-Mobile has. I am glad that my upgrade didn’t vanish and it just shows how much I am glad to be with T-Mobile.

Chemistry for Men: MenScience Review

Preface: First of all, I know this review has been overdue… I have had so much come up on the holidays and school as well. I want to once again thank Alfred of Barney’s New York for hooking me up with the products for the MenScience review. Without his help, I don’t think I’d have found out about another great brand! For my readers, I thank you for your patience with me… You all mean the most to me!

Some guys are more of the “manly man” camp and sadly could care less if their cologne smells like clean 5W40 motor oil for their Porsche Cayman or woody spices with subtle undertones. However, in the realm of male care goods… The selection either is laced with fragrances or the pronounced odor of the chemicals in the product are the only variety of smells you get. The fragrances can be an allergen to some body chemistries and the chemical odors would probably make you less inclined to use them from how bothersome they smell. Fortunately for those men who want the same high caliber performace out of their care but want to think of it like car care… A company does exist with your principles in mind: Function before form.

MenScience is one of the few companies that takes a very unique look at male grooming and they call it “androceuticals”. From their definition, it’s a merger of the prefix “andro” meaning male/men and pharmaceuticals. The philosophy of androceuticals is more from the idea that MenScience takes chemicals dermatology fields and uses the highest strength possible that just comes very short of being a prescription item. In their pursuit to get the highest standards, they wanted to keep their product hypo-allergenic. Due to their approach, they avoid using fragrances to facilitate their means. To keep their products in competitive pricing, they don’t pack their products in fancy packaging or give you marketing bull. This also makes their packaging environmentally friendly!

The Advance Facial Lotion was a rather nice treat. Like most the Billy Jealousy and Anthony Action facial moisturizers, it is very light and a little bit goes a VERY long way.  Most of the composition are things that help lubricate and keep moisture in the skin, however… MenScience puts a small amount of salicylic acid in it to help fight off oily skin, ingrown hairs, acne growth, and even helps facilitate moisture! The result is a very cool, soothing, and relaxing lotion that does its job very well. It’s a bit steep at the MSRP of $36, but I would assume that with the account of not using so much, it will last a few months if you’re using it 2-4 times daily.

I’ll be honest here… The Daily Shampoo was really awesome. It’s another product that uses the principle of “A little goes a long way” but it feels lighter than your drugstore shampoos. The unique tip from the MenScience site even mentions the fact that due to the suppliments found in the shampoo, there’s no need to use anti-dandruff shampoos or even conditioner. The dandruff is controlled by the wheat protiens and the salicylic acid, while the other vitamins found in it basically act like conditioner. The end result after washing off my hair and drying it was very apparent: very shiny strands of hair with lots of volume. This was quite a change as normally, after using regular conditioner, my hair feels a little weighted for a few hours before that fades off. For a 12oz bottle at $26, I think the price is more than fair for what you’re getting!

The Daily Facial Clenser wasn’t my favorite and I personally didn’t enjoy it much. True, the foaming effect and level of clean was really unparalleled to the Billy Jealousy or Anthony Action stuff… Just I think this product in particular fell into the camp of “smells like a drug store item” unfortunately. The fact it was in close proximity to my face didn’t help much. I won’t lie when I say I was amazed at how effective it was. I didn’t feel that I liked it to something like Billy Jealousy’s Sucker Punch or Anthony Action’s Foaming Face Wash, mainly from the pungent smell of the chemicals wafting to my nostrils. To be fair, I did use this both in the shower and at the sink. In the shower, I didn’t notice as much as I did when I was washing up at the sink. That may probably be the better solution if smell is a concern. Even though it’s really pricey at $45, but if you want an unmatched level of clean for your face… This is the best one I have tested.

The Eye Rescue Formula is something that most of us insomniacs, party goers, and midnight gamers trying to clean up our image would appreciate. This one just needs a dab and it works rapidly.  The eyes just feel that much more refreshed and the hazy dark circles become a thing of the past. I can say that if you’re a guy who wants to improve your looks so your boss, friends, or girlfriend would never suspect you of staying up for almost 16 hours doing that one “leet” raid out in Naxxramas in World of Warcraft, this is just the weapon for you.  For $37, I think the price is a steal for how good it is.

The Anti-Aging Formula was pretty interesting stuff. I personally haven’t looked into anti-aging care but to be able to test the results is quite staggering. The potency of the suppliments in the cream are pretty strong, so I will say this is one thing you do want to just use enough to touch up spots. The rapid onset and results were amazing, the minor facial wrinkles pretty much just disappeared. The price of $58 for a 1oz bottle, in my opinion, is rather steep… If you want something that works rapidly with the science behind it, I can say that it may be worth your money.

To close, I want to say that I enjoyed the experience from MenScience. For the guys out there who want high end grooming goods, it’s definitely on par to their standards. Even more so for guys who don’t want smells or imparted fragrances in their stuff. For me, I think I need the cosmoceutical philosophy found in other product lines versus the androceuticals. I can say that I will be recommending  MenScience to anyone who wants something closer to an androceutical.

A Phone Hacker’s Memories Revisited…

A while ago, I had posted an entry on ZeroXR about needing advice on a new phone. In the post I detailed about my previous history with phones and my time with them. What I didn’t get a chance to do was to really get into the nit-picky details of why I loved and/or hated each one. There’s the old saying that “Every rose has its thorns” and I am one who believes that even applies to technology. Especially since the “Jesus Phone Part Deux” came out, everyone wants the “hottest” phone or the cutest looking ones. I present to you my “memoirs” of hacking phones up until this present day. Click the jump to read this opus of my memories!

Continue reading A Phone Hacker’s Memories Revisited…

My Feature Article! Huzzah!

Andrew of BerryTastic was able to review my article featured on BerryTastic. To my surprise, he was rather pleased with it! The graphic the staff over at BerryTastic made for me was rather fun! To see the article in it’s glory… Check the link here! It’s not technical, so no techno-babble there. It’s a simple article that may help those that have been wanting a functional smartphone, but they don’t want a digital toy.

I would also like to make mention that if anyone out there is a “noob” to Blackberries… Join up BerryTastic! They are a small community of blossoming users from 15 – 50+ year old folks but we are kind to anyone who wants to join our ranks! Just tell them that Zero sent ya! 😉 I want to say that the staff is also a hoot to talk to via Blackberry Messenger as well!

For those who want to chat me up late nights… Feel free to e-mail me if you want my PIN. I love Blackberry Messenger and the people I have met from both PinStack and BerryTastic have been really sincere to me!

Saving a Demon and The Fall of the Ramparts

Of all things… Devil had an odd misfire issue. When I was replacing the spark plugs and the plug wires, I came about something odd… One of the metal firing contacts had corroded. Now, I need to figure why the service light is still on… I hope it’s not ’cause the misfire issue has killed my catalytic converter and possibly O2 sensors…

The school also will need $244 from me cause my student loans suck. I get the loan injection on 1/12 but I will have to scrounge up money somehow. Hopefully with a tolerable GPA, I will get more cash next school year.

My apologies for lacking a nice solid update as I have had some personal struggles come up I know I am highly overdue for my Men Science review. I have also decided to go ahead and work on an early Valentines special article too. I thank my closest friends and my loving girlfriend Ice for being so supportive in shouldering my personal problems.

As far as work… Let’s just say the ramparts are giving way and either leaders will fall or there will be mutiny among the crew. I have done my best and the sanity of the battleground will not hold.
(Updated from my Blackberry Curve)