What's upsetting you today?

[Aliantha]

Most of the kids I know have purchased (or had their parents purchase) the action kit and plan on plastering stuff all over the place during April. (20th I think).

[ZenGum]

It's going viral in early March. I don't know if it will wait until April!

Kony is a BAD person. He is not the only one, but if we can rustle up some action against him, it will either put the others on notice or create a mechanism for dealing with others.

[DanaC]

I've had to cancel my trip down to Sundae's this weekend

Partly because I didn;'t get my act together and organise the details last week, and now can't get ahold of her :p

But mostly, because my skin has gone mental over the last few days. Carrot has something called 'walking dandruff'. It's a type of mite and is apparently very common in puppies. vet said most pups have it at some point. In fact, she says, whenever she deals with a puppy, she almost always ends up with a mad rash from it.

Most people don't get anything worse than a little bite, but if you're sensitive to them, it can make for a really bad allergic reaction.

Which on the one hand is bloody inconvenient and making my skin crawl just at the thought of it...but on the other hand is something of a relief as it explains why my skin has gone so bad, so fast. A mild flare I always expect from a pup, but this is rapid and nasty.

It's also a relief because the biting at his back legs has turned out to be a nice, treatable, normal puppy thing and not the horrible bone or joint problems that my slightly overactive imagination was suspecting :p

Pissed I didn't get down to Sundae's though. I was really looking forward to seeing her. But I'd had a bath and applied various creams and ointments and was just so uncomfortable, I realised there was no way I was doing a 5 hour train journey.

[infinite monkey]

I wonder where she is...hasn't been around here in a few days or so?

[HungLikeJesus]

Your description of how your skin feels reminds me of that scene from that movie that came out a long time ago.

You know the one I mean.

[infinite monkey]

It reminds me of my angioedema which seems to have taken a turn for the worse and is especially bad on my right ankle and both arms.

Those scratches in the picture I showed earlier scarred. Like they're whiter than the rest of my arm. But surrounded by new scratches and scabs. Attractive.

[DanaC]

Yeah, Infi, that sounds like a bucketful of fun and no mistake.

[HungLikeJesus]

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

Your description of how your skin feels reminds me of that scene from that movie that came out a long time ago.

You know the one I mean.

This is the one. Don't watch this it you're sensitive to gore!



Didn't I warn you? But you had to watch it anyway, didn't you. I bet you wish you hadn't.

[DanaC]

Oh. Oh, that's just one of the most awesome horror flicks.

Though, I admit, I've never actually watched that scene through. That's one i tend to look away from :P

[Lamplighter]

How business thwarts the intent of a law...

Oregonians got sick and tired of motorists (Californians ) throwing
beer cans and bottles out onto the roadsides, into the rivers, and elsewhere.
So in 1971, Oregon's first "bottle bill" was passed that required a deposit on aluminum and glass containers.
The law was credited with reducing litter and increasing container recycling,
with returns amounting to about 90% of those sold.

Stores selling beer and soda were required to collect a deposit
on each container (5 and 2 cents for cans and bottles, respectively).
They were also required to accept the returns of these containers
and refund the full amount of the deposits.

Stores soon lobbied for amendments to restrict refunds to only those
brands and sizes that the store actually sold.
For the unique brands, it meant customers had to return to the same store for refunds.
The stores were allowed to keep all deposits on those that were not returned

Next came the technical development of machines that would receive the glass containers,
keep a running tally of which bottles were good in that store for refunds and
reject those that were not eligible, then break the bottles into small bits in a bin.
A printed receipt allowed the customer to get their $ refund from the store.

Now, the beverage industry has lobbied the legislature for another amendment
to allow stores to close their bottle-return operations,
and instead require customers to deliver the bottles to a "central location"
for their returns and deposits.
These centers are more than a mile from some of the affected stores

How long will it be before the roadsides are again littered with bottles and cans
from people who do not have the motivation or resources to travel
to these centers to complete the recycling cycle.


Salem Statesman Journal
3/9/12

New Salem BottleDrop center opens doors for sneak peak

Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative that collects recycled bottles and cans
throughout the state opened the “mega redemption center” as part of a pilot program
designed to simplify the bottle deposit and redemption process by having
full-service redemption centers centrally located near several large retailers.<snip>

[HungLikeJesus]

Lamp, you might be extrapolating a bit.

You're assuming that fewer bottles and cans will be returned under the new arrangement. If the bottle return centers take all returnable bottles, and not just specific types and sizes, it could actually increase the rate of returns.

[ZenGum]

I thought only South Australia had a deposit scheme like that. Oregon, I salute you!

Here, there are a few dozen recycling depots - the retail shops don't have to take the empties. The problem of people not bothering is solved by the presence of homeless people (yes, even in our hippy-fascist social utopia ) who scratch together a trickle of income by collecting and returning empty bottles and cans.

Pretty much as soon as you cross the border into another state, the roadsides are littered with enough drink containers that it would be economically viable to collect them if only they had deposits.

[Aliantha]

Yeah, all recycling of bottles and cans happens at centralised locations over here. As far back as I can remember, that's how it's been.

We still have litter, but overall I think australia is pretty good in comparison to some countries.

[Aliantha]

Zen, you can still collect cans for deposits in Qld.

I think you're exaggerating the issue of litter on the road sides a bit. At least, that's from my perspective of the roads I travel.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

Lamp, you might be extrapolating a bit.

You're assuming that fewer bottles and cans will be returned under the new arrangement.
If the bottle return centers take all returnable bottles,
and not just specific types and sizes, it could actually increase the rate of returns.

Yes, you may be right...but here is some more extrapolation from this cynic.

At the next legislative session, we will see crowds of people parading at the Capital Building,
complaining about traffic around these centers and the riff raff that congregate there,
and smells and garbage that litter the area around these centers.

An the beverage industry will suddenly find that these centers do not make a profit,
and so staffing will deteriorate and eventually the lobbyists will convince the Legislature
that the public really does not want all this hassle and the law will be repealed.

Bah, humbug poo on the beverage industry... they've been fighting this law since 1970.