Ice cream shampoo

Imagine what it would feel like to wash your hair with ice cream. I thought there might be some literature available on the subject, but alas no.

I did, however, find information on using other foods and beverages on your hair. I've never used any of them and don't know if they work, but the concept of intentionally putting food and/or drink in your hair amuses me.

For body and shine massage a beaten egg into freshly washed hair, wait 5 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Don't use hot water or you'll have scrambled egg hair - mmm.

Mayonnaise is also supposed to be a great conditioner, but, again, don't use hot water to rinse it out. Apparently if it sets in your hair it's very difficult to get out.

Rinse hair with vinegar after shampooing for increased shine and fewer tangles. Doesn't seem to matter whether you rinse it all out. You might smell like vinegar briefly but supposedly not once it dries.

Beer is supposed to add shine and body. Wash your hair as usual, pour on some beer, massage it in, then rinse off after a few minutes. Don't use light beer if your aim is body. One site also suggests that you should choose a beer that doesn't smell too strongly or you will give people the wrong impression at work.

Some crazy people suggest using honey and even maple syrup, but I just CAN'T imagine that coming out easily. You'd want to stay away from bears and flies too.

Do let me know how ice cream goes if you happen to try it.

Eary

By the time you turn four your ears are almost fully grown.

That's what the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons reckons anyway. Ear surgery to set prominent ears back closer to the head or to reduce the size of large ears is usually performed on children between the ages of four and 14.

One site I found (here) said that this is partly because cartilage is more pliable at a young age, but the Society of Plastic Surgeons says it's because the earlier the surgery, the less teasing and ridicule the child will have to endure. They mention the pursuit of more natural-looking ears.

The whole concept of cosmetic surgery disturbs me. Maybe it seems an unsympathetic stance to take, but I tend to think that however your ears naturally occur constitutes "natural-looking." I realise that there are sometimes extreme cases and, particularly in instances where this causes medical issues, I do think there is a place for cosmetic surgery.

It just seems a little bit scary that if you think your child has overly large ears you can take them to a surgeon to have them pinned back. Some people are born with big ears and, even if they get teased about it at school, I think it's OK for them to have big ears.

A vicious cycle (of education)

I've recently enrolled in (and am seriously considering actually going ahead with) a Graduate Diploma of Education. I had a couple of orientation sessions this week.

The course convenor, lecturers and tutors who made presentations were actually engaging. Never before have I attended a university orientation program that was so informative, well-structured and helpful in thinking through what the program is, how it works and what it is meant to achieve.

I think this is specifically because it's an education course. Those running the course are experts on education and how to teach. We, the students, are there to learn to be educators.

So, in effect, we have educators educating educators on how best to educate.

I have previously studied in Science and Humanities faculties and although there were some good teachers it was obvious that many of them were primarily researchers rather than enthusiastic educators. Some approached teaching with reluctance, some with indifference, probably some even with abhorrence.

It would seem that the people in the Education faculty actually like to teach. And they're good at it.

Pseudo-family

I don't know much about Mumford & Sons. Bunch of guys who sing folky, catchy and currently very popular music about sums it up. But it suddenly occurred to me that they might actually literally be Mumford and sons - a guy and his sons.

I checked. They're not.

Marcus Mumford, in an interview, said of the name:

"I think we wanted it to sound like a family business, because that's what we think it is. We picked my name and it stuck, but that's not really the dynamic of the band. We're all on an equal footing, running it together and just having a laugh while we do it."

Fish don't have eyelids

They don't need to blink because their eyes are always moist. But I still feel slightly sorry for them.

Sharks have upper AND lower eyelids. But they don't blink. What a waste.

Ankle pulse

Today I was sitting on the couch with my legs crossed and I could literally see my ankle pulsating. I put my fingers on the pulse and it was so clear it was freaky.

How did I never notice this before?

Not enough time spent staring at my ankles?

I think most people know how to find the traditional neck (carotid artery) and/or wrist (radial artery) pulse site/s, but my "friend" Wikipedia tells me that any place that allows for an artery to be compressed against a bone will do.

I think the tibial pulse (inside of the ankle, below the bone that sticks out) and the temporal pulse (on the temple directly in front of the ear) weird me out most, though it's hard to say why.

PS. I think I have actually seen doctors/physiotherapists TAKE my tibial pulse and just not thought about what they were doing.

PPS. I don't like blood. Maybe that's why I'm disturbed by pulse sites (some more than others).