The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Everyone Should Know This, But Sadly Very Few Do.

I watched this news report late on ABC recently and it disturbed me severely. Over the last year this same story has been shown numerous times (ABC Nightly News, Good Morning America, etc.), yet most people are still not aware this is happening. I only hope that you can take the time, like I did, to watch this video and appreciate its magnitude. Tell your friends, tell your friends to tell their friends.

Adventures in Greenless Oklahoma Part 2: Plastic Pains

We always recycle as much of our household waste as possible, but not all items can be - most notably some plastics.  I have gone to great lengths to help collect #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE) plastics at home, laying around the trash at work, and from co-workers bringing plastic from their homes to me.  Recycling plastic is probably the most fulfilling of all materials due to it's chemical nature.  Plastics break down so slow and turn into long chain chemicals that can be toxic to the soil (or ocean waters), unlike less complicated materials such as glass or paper, etc.

When I started recycling plastic I was gung ho about checking everything for the little triangle on the bottom with the number inside it.  Like a scratch off lotto ticket, it became a rush to find that little number.  I was separating each number in its own pile.  I learned soon after that most of my labor was wasted; in my area only #1 and #2 were accepted.  Even though I'm glad to be able to recycle any plastic at all, I was troubled by the amount of #5 (PP) plastic that I was accumulating... and eventually having to throw in the garbage.  I recently read that certain companies are changing to #5 plastic because of its strength which in turn limits the amount of plastic being used (thinner containers - that they claim are good for the environment).  But only larger urban areas have recycling of #5 making the switch a less perfect improvement for most areas... less recycling threatens to equal out any impact from the switch.

Supposedly certain grocery stores recycle #4, but I have yet to see any store that takes #4 other than grocery bags - random #4 plastics... denied.  Weirder stuff #3 and #6 are rarely seen around my house, so I consider them non-issue for me personally. 

The most troubling is #7 (listed as OTHER) due to the fact that it can not be recycled because of it's mixed plastic contents.  Also certain #7 plastics have been linked to health problems when exposed to heat (i.e. the recent news warning of water / baby bottles leaking toxic chemicals).  I do find these bottles quite often too.  I get them from coworkers (Arizona Tea Gallon Jugs) and at home (Naked Juice 15.2 oz bottles) - which I will avoid in the future.  So... if you are buying plastic bottles, containers, or whatevers then try to see what plastic it is first.  Only certain plastic can be recycled and the #7 is by far the worst... pure landfill fodder - avoid it like the plague.

Below is a website for a complete list of all the plastics #1 - #7 and what makes each so unique. 

http://www.recyclenow.org/r_plastics.html

Jesus Christ Action Figure, cooler than a Rocket-Firing Boba Fett? Maybe not.

This spoof of vintage toy commercials cracks me up... so, yeah I think this is hilarious.



Also take note of the reference made to Indiana Jones movies during the "redeem UPCs from specially marked packages" section - almost as cool as the infamous Rocket-Firing Boba Fett offer made by Kenner in 1978-79... to never be released. You know why? Well I'll wax a little vintage toy knowledge then.

In order to start this mythical tale of the figure that almost (but never) was, we have to preface it with another story about a different toyline.



Similar to the red rocket designed for Mr. Fett, little red missiles were made for the spaceships of the 1978 line of 2" scale Battlestar Galactica figures. These plastic red missiles were recalled by Mattel in January of 1979 because a child died and supposedly ten others were injured by the small projectiles. Personally I was pissed as a kid. I vividly remember my mom taking the missiles away from me only days after getting the Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider for Christmas of '78.


In fear of similar problems, Kenner immediately halted the production of the Star Wars mail away Boba Fett half way through the promotion. The elusive Rocket-Firing Boba Fett was sadly never mass produced, kids instead received a figure with the rocket "glued" into place... lame.


Gen X kids across the universe still find this story to be cringe worthy, knowing how cool this figure would've been in their little 1970's hands. Above is the original artist rendering of the pre-production figure as it was promised, but never delivered. Just like Indiana Jones' pursuit of The Holy Grail or The Ark of the Covenant, this figure is practically unattainable (functioning Kenner prototypes can be found, but sell for up to $25,000 for quality pieces with certified authenticity documentation).

Kids, you better eat your veggies...

Stumbling across the interweb I saw this and all I can say is wow.  Double wow.  This is by far one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen.  If you are a fan of H.R. Giger's Alien design, then get a load of this.  The details are amazing.  From the eggplant head to the green bean fingers, this is awesome. I'm a huge fan of pop culture inspired art, especially original pieces like this.  Titled: "Salad" by Till Nowak.

Adventures in Greenless Oklahoma Part 1: It's Not Easy Being Green

Lately I have been striving to be more eco-friendly. And I have arrived at the conclusion that "the man" hates us helping the environment. I installed compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs for short) in our living room ceiling fans, but they are the small candelabra style... so the largest I could get were only 25 watt equivalents. Now when I'm in my living room after 6 PM, I feel like it's 1941 and I'm sitting in a London pub during a brown out waiting for a German air raid to end. Even with all six lights going - three on each fan, it's brutally dark.

These CFLs cost me approximately $8 each and will most likely save me about 11 cents over the next two years. Regardless of the bulb cost, I will spend much more at the hospital after breaking my neck from stepping on dog toys while walking through the living room at night. But lucky for me they now have a 40 watt equivalent (9 watt actual), yeah! These will put out enough light to be a little more than half as bright as the 60 watt bulbs I used to have. Plus they only cost $17 each, wow that's STUPENDOUS! No wait that's STUPID... yeah, that's what I meant. I guess some con artist said, "I've got a bright idea. Let's sell everything really high and then we'll convince them they're saving money..." Well at least the idea was bright, the bulbs sure aren't.

I will post more about my "Adventures in Greenless Oklahoma" again later. I quote the great late Kermit The Frog (Jim Henson) on this thought... "It's not easy being green."

The End is Near... like 5:00 PM CST, Prepare for Apocalypse

Well today was not the day I thought it would be. In fact it's been one of those random days I like to affectionately call "Potluck Thursday." I was suppose to work today, but my schedule got changed again, so I decided to do a little mowing in the backyard. Lately the rain has been horrible; we got almost 4 inches just on Monday. And if you're familiar with Oklahoma weather during August, this is anything but normal. By the third week of this month, we had broken the record of total rainfall for Oklahoma in August and there is a chance of rain everyday until September.

Last year we broke the record for ice and for several rainfall statistics going back to before statehood. None of these so called "chance occurrences" have been linked to global warming in our local media. And since Oklahomans are more likely to listen their preacher instead of the weatherman, then I say we start preparing for The End, in a biblical sense instead of a climatic sense.

Back to my original story... I was mowing and found a whole bunch of baby frogs (or toads more likely) in the tall grass. I have never seen baby toads in August, March or April or even as late as June maybe, but not late August. Is Mother Nature on vacation? Or, is she planning on raising a whole new batch of volunteers for the prophetic "Rain of Toads" that we've all been warned of. I'm going with a split decision on this one.

Maybe Mother Nature plans on ending the world soon... like on a federal holiday or some other three-day holiday where the people at the shopping malls can be struck down first. Personally I am just hoping to get a Tivo so that I can store up a bunch of television for when the airwaves die out.

So... dust off that Y2K survival kit, stock up on water purification tablets and ramen noodles. Oh and don't forget to zip lock your books incase of flooding... you made need to brush up on your "Left Behind" series before it's all over. On the other hand I will be recycling, using compact fluorescent light bulbs, and not driving my gas-guzzling car up until the very brink of disaster.... just so I can say it wasn't my fault.



Next Time Thoughts

1) Ahhhh(Yawn)lympics - So why is the Olympics so boring this time? I mean, I watched Michael Phelps and it was exciting enough, but as whole... blah. In 1992 I watched a ton of Olympics really late at night and loved it. Is it just me?

2) New Species - Every time I turn around there is new a species of fish or sea creature or presumed to be extinct or dinosaur-like "thing" being pulled out of the ocean, especially near Japan. We're never surprised. But someone says they found Bigfoot and the pic of the deepfreeze (where it was supposedly stored) was shown live on CNN as a breaking story for hours. Do you think the Loch Ness monster or little green m... , excuse me, gray men would get that same attention? It must've been a slow news day.

3) Facebook. - Possibly the educated guess to a glittered out bling-you question like, "Myspace?" I recently started making a gradual shift away from Myspace to Facebook and so have a few of my friends. I will not treat Myspace like the redheaded stepchild, but I have to admit I have found a favorite of the two.

Lego Sushi... looks good enough to eat... er... build?

I came across this today and couldn't believe the attention to detail - go to this link for closeups. I believe that you would have to be a fan of sushi to enjoy this or possibly a fan of Legos (or possibly both - Jason S. - you getting any hints I'm referring to you?) I only wished the sushi at Target looked as good as this... sadly enough. 

Only thing missing is some sake or for me a large bottle of Japanese beer, preferrably Asahi with a small cold glass.

Hadakaimasu (Bon appetite!) and Kanpai (Cheers!)

Lego Sushi, including my favorite sushi on the top left corner - Futo Maki!

Holy Brilliant Breakfast Buildings, Batman! Could this really be?

www.TheCerealBowl.com

The Cereal Bowl, an entire restaurant dedicated to breakfast cereal. Wow.  Selling brands that you already know (such as Kellogg's, Post, General Mills) - this company supplies a formal setting to the familiar.  But, it's the little things that set this apart from your kitchen's breakfast bar - fresh fruit, dried fruits, nuts, granola, and even candies are all optional toppings to highlight your choice (or custom mix).  Custom mix?  Ever wondered what Lucky Charms mixed with Coco Puffs would taste like?  You can find out.  Plus, don't forget that they sell ice cream (Freezin' Flakes), Parfaits, smoothies (Oaties), Baked Goods (think Rice Crispy treats with numerous other cereal flavor substituted in), flavored coffees, hot cereals, and more!

The Cereal Bowl, behind the counter