How to: Easy homemade spice fragrance and flavor oleoresin collection with Wisesorb Flower Drying Silica Gel Crystals.

 I’ve come across a novel concept, in extending the use case scenario, in my studies and observations regarding chaparral plants of California, in the case of implementing Wisesorb’s Flower Drying Silica Gel Crystals - not only as a desiccant, yet I’ve found that it seems to bind spice | herb oleoresins to the structure of the silica particles.

Wisesorb Flower Drying Silica Gel Crystals, image courtesy of Amazon and Wisesorbent Technologies.

What does this mean, in particular?

Within the world of spices, I imagine that I would update this blog article, in days and weeks to come (I started on this project idea at the end of February, 2023) with exciting developments in detailing a rather simple and relatively labor and machinery-free method of processing fresh plant material in to an accessible pure oleoresin, which can be observed as in the image below:

A closeup of Wisesorb Silica Gel crystals with some fresh spice herb material and bits of oleoresin.

What an exciting thing to observe, for a fragrance and flavor enthusiast, perhaps with the added feature of bearing an artisanal crafting aspiration, in manufacturing ingredient concentrates from scratch. Imaginably, from this point, I could keep loading the silica gel crystals up with fresh spice herb materials until a satisfactory amount of oleoresin had built up in the crystals, at which point, I could perform a simple solvent extraction, of my choosing, of such, dependent, perhaps, upon the plant’s best reputed solvent, determined per species of harvested plant. In this instance, I came across a fresh, minty, mesquite-smelling chaparral plant in my local commonplace whereabouts.

Update: my backpack with this project, started, in it, had been stolen from me, so I can not currently continue this blog article. Hopefully, some day, I’ll be able to come back to it.

iPigeon.institute 2023 classroom and activity ideas.

• Musicianship and Introductory Piano - learning to sing, and rhythmic training. Learning to sight read music.
• Illustration - Ink brush coloring and illustrations. Color theory, rudimentary figure (animals, nature) drawings.
• Track and Field - Running / jogging exercises. Stretching techniques. Physical health routines.
• Nutrition - Demonstrate how to barbecue. How to cook rice and egg. Nutrition lessons - 4 food groups, nutrition theory. Alternative diets (raw). 
• Journaling - Scrapbooking, Typography / handwriting - choosing a font. Bullet Journaling. Page layout and Design.
• Botany - Learning to plant seeds in pots. Plant identification. (Fruit or Flower tree planting?) / community garden. Preserving flowers and leaves (press-method).
• Agriculture lessons - Chicken egg incubator. Animal care - livestock feeding techniques. Genealogy of Poultry and Game Birds.
• Computer Skills - Hand / eye coordination and identification / discernment training. Keyboard navigation on desktop / laptop computer. 
• Sustainability - Compost heap. Community service (leadership) and the ecology. Accessibility - pedestrian safety. Noise and light pollution.

Christmas lights wire art, powered by USB, for example. Available on Amazon. An unexpectedly “way” to dry clothes up, a bit, wow! - USB wired Christmas lights. Who would have thought?

My latest (February) 2023 art release(s) - 🏝️ Tropical effect! (Updating)

 

What a great effect, right? It’s a 2-part composite image, essentially, with an Adobe Photoshop Kaleidoscope effect (I think), with a white background ink brush illustration with glitch effect, as a separate top layer, with luminosity layer effect applied, in Adobe Illustrator, and then I played around with the opacity, a bit, and maybe some work with Vectorization of the top layer, to achieve layer and vector-bits independence, from the underlying kaleidoscope (or Collider, maybe) background layer. 

It’s got the same glitchy effect that we all know and love, from recent years’ popularization, on mobile devices, and in marketing imagery, as well as pop culture uses of the glitch effect, such as in effect-sy music videos. 

Here’s Adobe’s informational and instructional page on the various ways to make the Glitch effect happen. 

I call it “Tropical,” I guess, if I had to name it, and it’s got all the features of glitch (color aberration version) about it, with the color palette blown out, in full glory, and some organic variety, given the collider / kaleidoscope background. Here’s the background image I used, in case you don’t have access to Adobe Photoshop on a Desktop or Laptop computer, and you want to recreate this effect. You will need (I think) Adobe Illustrator, in some form - I made this happen on an iPad Pro (2022 model). 

 

 

Product Review - Maison Margiela “Replica:” Jazz Club - Eau de Toilette.

This time, I tried out an unexpected “newcomer” fragrance. 

I hadn’t heard of Maison Margiela, prior to showing up at Nordstrom, out at the Del Amo Fashion Center, where I’d intended to show up to purchase Jo Malone’s Myrrh and Tonka - Cologne Intense (currently $160-$220 USD), as a departure from men’s fragrances I’d already tried, and loved, such as Dior Homme ($95-$175 USD - 1.7-6.7 oz.) or Viktor and Rolf Spicebomb ($134, 3.04 oz.). Prior to showing up, I’d tried to pore over exactly what I was trying to get at, here and there, in maintaining a fragranced personal profile, for people (not really) - the thought had come up, in my mind, as a suggestion, after all. Sure, Myrrh and Tonka smells great, but was it beyond something I could reasonably mix up, myself, somewhat, if I’d just purchased various component ingredients, myself? On one hand, Tonka bean is a bit of a contentious ingredient, being that it is potentially toxic. After the fact (of my purchase), I got some feedback on things. Supposedly, the toxins had been painstakingly researched and studied, as far as the end product fragrance composition, in question, and they’d duly been removed, from the consumer fragrance product - not all that far-fetched, to suppose. 

Then, at the men’s fragrance rack, at Nordstrom, the merchandising display winds up being a different story. I chose to do retail, at a department store, for one thing, for the sake of the fact that they have an on-site testing and auditioning space and capability, as far as product offerings, in fragrance - it’s something that e-commerce solutions, as far as branching out, in to something new, can - at times, be lacking in, resulting in purchases that lead to buyer’s remorse, perhaps, or a lack of diversification, which can wear down on things; concepts such as innovation. On the bottom of the fragrance rack, there were these products, named Replica, as a brand, which I had never heard of, before. I figured - “hmm… Replica? As though they might, somewhat, be fairly high-end aiming, (somewhat) bargain alternatives (at $150 USD, for 3.4 fl. oz.) to the more high-end and more well-established luxury lines, such as Jo Malone - in this case, I’d say that this brand is a bit of a newcomer, at Nordstrom, out here, whereas Creed products, far more expensive, which were placed at the top of the same section, on the same part of the fragrance rack, Jo Malone, right below, and some other brand, next one down, with Replica products seated at the bottom of the rack. My analytical mind had me supposing that perhaps these ones were a viable knock-off sort of thing, or otherwise cheaper alternative product, leading me astray from fulfilling my initial intention, in procuring a new fragrance for myself - so I don’t smell, while I’m out and about, in public, feeding the birds, and such. I do routinely become sweaty, and oh - what a travesty, if I end up smelling bad, as a known pigeon-feeding bum.

This is the product, similarly, as I’d encountered it, as a sample bottle, in-store, at Nordstrom. Maison Margiela’s Replica fragrance line touts itself as a rendition, if you would, upon a notable theme, or experience, per se. I found “Jazz Club” to be a suitable attention-grabbing alternative, given my initial intention to purchase Jo Malone’s Myrrh and Tonka cologne, for a fair sum of money more, on this instance of purchasing a bottle of cologne.

As it turns out, the general field of relevance, contextually - in a sensory sort of consideration, given the two top competitors, here - Myrrh and Tonka versus Jazz Club, I found my choice to wind up being reasonably within a similar olfactory ballpark, with Myrrh and Tonka’s lavender top notes becoming a citrusy and floral theme, with primofiore lemon and neroli, in Jazz Club. In addition, I’d also recently - by turn of fate, been interested in Rum, as a fragrance ingredient - quite expensive, as it turns out, and I feel that it’s a sophisticated ode to myrrh, on one hand, with its complexity and breadth, in a fragrance composition. The unifying features, between either one of them, were the sweet base notes of either one - Tonka bean versus vanilla bean: similar, in an olfactory sense, yet, upon sampling both fragrances in the store, I found Myrrh and Tonka to have a bit, perhaps, too much richness, in the bottom notes, and I felt that I would, at some point, measuring out a use-case scenario, of me being out and about, and sweating, and stuff - of that I’d develop a viciously rich musk about myself - easily offensive, if I ever got lazy, and I’d wind up “not realizing,” so to speak, how I smell, to other people, whereas I found Jazz Club’s features to accommodate the same general aesthetic, while remaining a bit bright, I’d say, as far as the overall effect, of the fragrance, whereas I could layer it with some still-there citrus and woodsy fragrances I have, in small amounts - Eau d’orange verte, by Hermes, and Dior Homme. Together, the trio of the three fragrances is deliciously elegant, like a luxuriantly-enveloped citrus rind, upon close examination, with the middle and base notes becoming more evident, with diffusion, starting at a slight distance, perhaps, with a slighter sniff of the nose. In my fragrance-wearing oeuvre and repertoire, of purchases-past, I’d enjoyed having what I’d say, would amount to a similar citrus-led layering of colognes, such as that the Hermes botanicals line of products would be most suitable - for instance: Eau de Citron Noir had been a recent favorite, with Dior Homme and Spicebomb as my layering choices - quite complex, in that instance. 

After purchasing, I tried on some of my choice, in purchasing, and I found it to have a delightful olfactory sense of that the fragrance imparted a notion of having taken a shower - ostensibly due to an addition of C-12 (I’d sensed - both Lauric Alcohol, as well as Aldehyde C-12; fairly bitter), with Alcohol C-12 (Lauric Alcohol) being the characteristic “just-showered” scent, of all scents, I’d say, and C-12 Aldehyde being a bit controversial for me, since I’m allergic to drinking alcohol, and overall, I found that this fragrance easily affects me with a notable depressive and sedated effect. It was my choice, though, in trying this one out, and perhaps it’s not all that much, to my detriment, overall. I’m trying to do life as representatively (as much as possible) not overly, or obviously, stimulated - it’s simply too cheaply and easily a topic of controversy, and I strive to be an honest role model of sustainability in my enterprise model, so I don’t get thrown out of town - quite literally, that, which could wind up, being the case, for me. I figure - if I take the bottle out, with me, on a walk, and with my ionic mineral carry-along profile, and with my travels equating to some form of milling, further, of the product, the fragrance would, ostensibly, mill out the aldehyde, or I could throw some other stuff in there, since the bottle actually allows for the entire spray top, and “cap” of the bottle, to be removed - allowing for additions, or refills, for example, another ingredient, or entire fragrance, could be put in to this bottle of Jazz Club, thus transforming the presence of this contentious (for me, being allergic to “drinking” alcohol) Aldehyde C-12 ingredient in to something altogether unexpected, and far-removed, sensory-wise, in the fragrance composition, in my experience with aldehyde C-12.

A nice touch, that the bottle’s top is removable, allowing for refills. 

I’ll leave this review, at that, for the time being. Thanks for reading :)

Sticker Time Giveaway! (Active) - mophie charger (found - USC)

I found this mophie charger, while out and about

yesterday. I hear various theories, such as that ditching this charger was a clever marketing student’s ploy, to get the USB-powered Christmas lights giveaway to happen, of my Twitter account’s fabled lore. Actually, that was the only theory I heard. Prior to that, I assumed that someone somehow lost or dropped the thing, in between the time in which it was raining, in the early morning, until the time in which I found it, which was around noon, or so. I guess I ought to return the thing, since I feel like I should frequent the local Target, there, for their cheap bread prices, easily accessible, for me, while racking up Target Circle rewards, at the same time (bread has recently been marked up about $1.00, or so, at different locations). I just started this routine, yesterday. 

  

Lifestyles of the group home (transitional) transients - freon-huffing, post-cloudz 🤯

 Man, oh, man, these housemates of mine really pop off, for the start of a day - a workweek Monday, for that matter.

Having spent some years in transitional living homes, after doing some time, immemorable, of some form, around the time I was evicted from my Section 8 apartment, for excessive crumbs and knickknacks crumbs and knickknacks awrr rawr rawr, I’d (fearfully so) had become acquainted with some transient group home types, much more down to home and in-my-face, err, (some other) mental health detriment, some other personality disorder. 

That being said, I do have some reasonably good and well-read psychology chops, so I commonly moonlight as a public health operative, out in the field, or, at home, much the same - that is, to say, that these demographics are much like common folk who are out and about, and I hear that many of them are equitably to be found in sober living home settings; it’s a certain branch off-shoot of that lifestyle and placement, by public and mental health, as well as social service and local government organizations. 

This is transitional living.

I’ll keep it short, and to the point - these folks share their knowledge base and resources, however well-resourced, somewhat fairly freely, amongst each other, and, in my case, they find me the “gay” one - the one to pick on, for being well-groomed, well-dressed, clean cut, etc., so they direct a significant amount of inappropriate attention towards me, once I leave home, to head out, and feed the pigeons, for my work day, or, perhaps, they do it somewhere off in the periphery. 

But anyways, this is the memo. The drama, of an ongoing nature, I’ve come to (re-)discover, through “hearing” stuff - something along these lines, I’ll say, tantamount to a strong air-pressure leakage, from a holding tank, perhaps of a commercial, rather than personal, -sized tank, such as for Freon tank refilling, or installation. 

Essentially, it seems to allow for the users to become exotically more so euphorically intoxicated, with blissful renditions upon life, at a strange hour, in life, (comparatively), such as perhaps just prior to 8 a.m., through 9:30 a.m., or so. I did “similarly,” yet not “huffing” stuff(-ly) so, types of things, back in college, when I had a girlfriend, but I was, comparatively, embarrassed, when I realized that my neighbor could hear me, from across the way. 

The iPigeon last minute (or beyond) 2022 cool picks for holiday cheer. A web history best of.

Sometimes, I figure out slightly novel or ingenious little twists, when getting back to Google Web Searching. Their Top 100 Shopping Trends of 2022 splash page, which just reached me, the other day, saw some familiar favorites, and it inspired a mock shopping trip dive, which, ostensibly, I’d had had to have made a multi-part return to the topic, so I could report back to readers on some of my findings, of truly neat-o, new, or innovative products that seemed to have surfaced, in the retail online consumer market, over this past year, 2022, within my ad marketing serve, and which I hope finds you discovering inspiring and fruitful Google Shopping, etc., online marketplace searches.

As many of you know, I’m a long-time connoisseur of fine fragrance, both as a consumer and as a semi- or sometimes-moderate[novice] (developing) manufacturer, or perfume artist, of which I’d had some recent likable compositions and single ingredients made. I’d lost my perfume ingredients collection due to some circumstances, over the past year, yet I had a longing to return to this theme of a nice tropical fragrance, such as one that I’d made, called Southern Critter Skeet Skeet, which found itself multivariate uses, in practical terms, beyond personal fragrancing - the aroma seemed to stir the winds of an environment, at times, and it was a good cover, when put to use, in small environmental settings, where the air quality had taken a downturn, such as a dead animal’s smell, perhaps. 

I started out a new search - completely new, for me: island perfume ingredients. There was some talk about island nation people going on, earlier in the day, a day or two ago, and my thoughts turned to island fragrances, of the imagined richness and diversity potential of a fertile island’s vegetation, perhaps special care and cultivations of - particularly unique and perhaps fragrant aroma compounds, oils, or fruits, for example. The search - a limited and quick browse, through the various several pages that came up, on Google Shopping, found some quick and interesting links, such as fragrance ingredients suppliers, such as ChemWorld.com, new-to-me fragrance ingredients, along tropical-themes, such as Veratraldehyde, to investigate, and perhaps follow up on, at some point; a new index, of a highly astute and well-wrought out thorough-ability, of both common names of plants, as well as their associated constituent chemical and essential oil scientific names and chemistry signifiers, oxytocin spray, and, my personal fave - throwback classic island fragrances by Monoi | Tiki.

Remember these fragrances? I think that they’re pretty good, if I recall.

Another quick suggestion, fragrance-wise, is FragranceNet.com’s deal on Dior Homme - a fragrance suite which can be a little bit confusing - but don’t get confused - there’s vastly different “Dior Homme” fragrance varieties out there, several, perhaps, and I tried smelling the white label one - I definitely didn’t much like it. This is the one I like - the grey background with the black rectangle one. If you’re looking for a cheap holiday gift, 10 mL of Dior Homme, in a mini form, should suit somebody’s fragrance tastes just fine, perhaps for weeks, or a month, or two, perhaps, and it comes with shower gel. It’s a nice deal, at $20.99 (40% off, currently), and it smells great - reminiscent of a fine department store’s fragrancing, for example. 

* plus shipping

One deal that I commonly encounter, regardless of the time of year, although I had just come across it, right now, is the sidewalk vegetables and fruits vendors of Chinatown, neighboring downtown Los Angeles. They give out generous amounts of fruits and vegetables for characteristically one dollar, in most cases I’ve encountered.