what I need is some accountability

Inspired by this blog, I thought that one way to keep me working on my personal programming project would to have some visible external record of my progress or lack thereof.

This week, I started fleshing out the design of my HappyTrack mood tracking program.

I went off on 2 tangents:

* unit testing:

http://blog.jayfields.com/2008/06/developer-testing-and-importance-of.html

http://blog.jayfields.com/search/label/Testing%20Refactorings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-driven_development

* Localization/internationalization

I'd like the app to support multiple languages in a relatively flexible, intelligent manner.

Once my program is reasonably usable, I'd like to play with Scala. As most of my experience lies with Java, Scala seems like a natural area to branch into.

However, next month I also start learning Haskell in earnest! I hope I can make faster progress with HappyTrack soon.

Expect another report in a week at the latest.

banila co let me touched glow bb cream in classic beige

I received a sample of this bb cream with my recent purchases.

Impressions: medium to high coverage, a bit on the thick side in texture, perhaps due to the high coverage.

Classic beige is probably a bit too light for my skin.

Although it states "glow" it doesn't have any noticeable glow, but nor is it matte, so perhaps it's just right.

testing

Prompted by a psychologist friend, I'm writing a mood tracking app in Java, to refresh my Java skills.

In the progress, I thought I'd try to write the test cases as I designed and programmed the application.

I've never used any proper testing frameworks, so I'm starting with the easily available JUnit.

There seems to be a lot of information available on effective ways to write tests.

What makes a good unit test?

How to write good unit tests

The interesting thing about writing a test is that you have to be very clear about what behavior you are expecting. So you must have a clear idea of what you are trying to build and then test. This forces you to clarify the requirements before programming.

It may be difficult to pin down the requirements in advance sometimes. If you are just trying stuff out or just experimenting with functionality, you may not want to fix the outcome in advance.

However, even in such cases, it can be good to limit the functionality temporarily, write test cases for this temporary target, and modify the test cases as you adjust the functionality. It does depend on your individual programming style though.

banila co banila kiss gloss

Banila Kiss lip gloss #04 Raspberry is a nice, pigmented, medium weight gloss.

It's a bit sticky but not too noticeable, and the bright cherry is very naturally and flattering.

I think my photo is actually a little washed out; it seems more pigmented in person.

But very wearable; I'm quite happy with this tube gloss!

Be careful though, the other Banila Kiss gloss I got seems to leak a bit.

This one is fine, but the quality control for the line may not be that good.

Sephora Liner Electro - Glitter Eye Pencil

I find that I can use this on my lower eyelid, but it creases if I use it on my upper eyelid. A pity because it's a very pretty eyeliner that I can use at work too for subtle effect.

on Beyonce

Well said: "Who Run the World?"

I particularly like the blogger's motto: "I am blogger! Hear me squeak!"

Beyonce is clearly an excellent business woman. But the lyrics... need some work.

experimenting with my stash

I've noticed that trying to use up my makeup is a losing proposition - I just get bored and I want to buy new products.
This weekend I ended up buying Make Up For Ever's Rock For Ever Aqua Eyes limited edition kit (which you can find in Tokyo at the Est Nation store in Roppongi Hills, near the extensive selection of Comme des Garcons fragrances including Series 1 and Series 2 and the incense series).
It's 5000 yen which is a markup on their US prices, but given I don't use up any makeup, having 5 colors is much better than 2. Anyway, it's better than L'Occitane's criminal markup in Japan (averaging 75% as far as I can tell).

Anyway, I don't need more makeup pencils, although I don't have any of these colors. In this heat, they seem to fade, but at least they don't transfer to my lower eyelids. The fading is lessened if I put powder on top.

I've been experimenting with other parts of my stash, digging out a mini Stila smudgepot in black and using it as a base for the various green and blue eyeshadows in my collection. As a base, it doesn't seem to smudge too badly, so I finally have a use for it. I like the mini size as I despair of using even this size up!

I've also found that using my canmake lip concealer as a base for my pink lipsticks tones them down quite naturally; it's good for converting them into wearable work colors, even the sparkly formulations. The concealer doesn't work with stronger colors too well, but it melds quite naturally into the pinks. A touch of my super frosty MAC lipgloss adds a nice touch of shimmer but remains wearable. At this rate it'll be years before I use the lipgloss up, but at least I have a use for it.

The next step will be finding a use for my MAC paint pot in a shimmery pink color. It's quite shimmery and hasn't worked very well as a base so far, as eyeshadows go on rather blotchy on top of it, and it creases a bit even with eyeshadow on top. I'll have to experiment more.

Clearly I have a lot of makeup that is useable but not at all necessary. I can't wait till I used these products up and clear them out!

From now on I'm going to avoid shimmery colors. I have tons of sparkly and shimmery pale shadows that can be used to add shimmer/sparkle to any matte/pearl color, so these kinds of finishes are more versatile for me. Which means I need to avoid most Japanese palettes, as they love including a shimmery highlighter color.

I've been enjoying using my Canmake cream cheek blushes, but certainly the lasting power is only average on me. So I will use these up (they're inexpensive, easy to use, and quite fun) but the next cream cheek product I try will have a good reputation for lasting power.

amy winehouse

I'm so sad to hear that Amy Winehouse has passed away. My deepest condolences for her family.

What a tragedy.

Her albums are fantastic, and I was really looking forward to her future work.

my inner French girl

I ran across an interesting philosophy that one might describe as "the inner French girl" or "Euro Chic."

Very inspiring; I like the idea of "editing" one's wardrobe and life.
I think my French coworkers will find it amusing though.

Ars Aromatica has been steadily promoting a similar philosophy over the years: "editing" one's stash of makeup for example. An appealing form of minimalism.

banila co sale in Harajuku

Banila co's shop near Harajuku (Meiji jingu mae station) has a 50% off sale; I picked up 2 tube lip glosses in a bright-but-wearable pink and orange for 500 yen each. They had a lot of other products on sale, but nothing I needed, so I limited myself to the super cheap glosses.

The sale is going on until the end of the month, so you have plenty of time to check it out.

one of my favorite blogs is gone

oh no! it was terribly well written and interesting.
I hope mymakeupreviews.blogspot.com comes back eventually.