Unlucky Number 7

Your Water Bottle IS Dangerous

If your water bottle is made of polycarbonate plastic—and most Nalgene and Camelbak bottles sold over the last few years are—it’s probably unsafe for you to use.

Nalgene, the largest manufacturer of outdoor water bottles, announced today that it will stop selling bottles made of polycarbonate. Polycarbonate contains a manmade chemical called bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches from the plastic at levels dramatically higher than previously thought.

Time to throw away your Nalgene bottles

Polycarbonate contains a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) which has been linked to numerous health problems including breast and prostate cancer, brain damage, endocrine system disruptions, higher levels of testosterone in men and women, recurrent miscarriages, and chromosomal defects in fetuses.
…..
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY BOTTLE HAS BISPHENOL A IN IT?
Look on the bottom of the bottle for a number surrounded by three arrows. Polycarbonate bottles are categorized as number seven. Note that seven is the catchall “other” category for plastics—all polycarbonates are seven, not all sevens are polycarbonates.

Basically if you see the following image below on your bottle somewhere you could be at risk. 07 represents ‘other’ plastics not categorized such as polycarbonate, fiberglass and nylon; polycarbonate plastic is the plastic in question.
plastic ID 07

And to think I first heard this on Jumping Monkeys several weeks back

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Boom de yada, boom de yada

project 442

The intent of this project is to create a collaborative video of the xkcd comic, as acted out by the fans.

Based on
xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel
parodying Discovery Channel’s “I Love the World” ad as below

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Caricatures and Me

Got this done in Singapore about 3 or 4 years ago. The guy was/is from Portrait Workshop.

So naturally when I heard read “$10 A Caricature” (full article below) in my RSS feeds (*insert shameless plug for my Brudirect RSS feed here*) I want to have another one

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done (need to have hair cut before another caricature, don’t like my ‘long’ locks). Not sure if I’ll have the time. But maybe….

Bandar Seri Begawan – A local artist Indera showcased his talent in drawing caricatures at the entrance of Season’s Restaurant at the Centrepoint Hotel in Gadong.

For $10 per drawing, the public is invited to come and have their faces caricatured; Indera will also be stationed there on Sunday.

The artist also provides lessons on drawing caricatures at $3 per hour but those interested must bring their own drawing material. — Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Pure Joy

With all the things that have happened (and are happening) I could so easily be like this:

But James 1:2-4 says:

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Consider it “Pure joy”: Not easy huh?

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Magnificent Night

Yes I was working until 0130 but it was what happened after work that was so refreshing. The drive in the quiet night. With a peace and calmness that you don’t get to see during the day or even at night with people busy running their own rat race. I took a nice leisurely drive in the midst of the first day of the week that more or less started off with an expectation of a busy week, anticipating the work that needs to be done. And this was/is camp work, not even office work which woke me up in the morning via an innocently ringing phone. Data population was to be resumed after a long hiatus: people have finally given me data to populate! (the enthusiasm more for the feeling of relief that finally get to make a few more steps towards finishing the project, rather than the happiness of getting work to do). But enough about work and just enjoy the beautiful world that we have before us. Got my supper at the pasar at church and felt like taking a nice long walk in the cold of the early morning. I guess the feeling of relief after a long day of work and the opportunity just to relish in the morning was so satisfying that I just drove around for an hour. Just me and God and His magnificence. Church camp coming up this weekend and 3 weeks until YDM youth camp and I’m sure He’s stirring up something special. Brace yourselves. It’s going to be awesome (yes I had to resist the ‘ooosome’ ;-> =P)

USB Batteries

From missile launchers to massage balls and I find USB batteries.

  • Recharges via USB (5 hours) or NiMH charger (7 hours for 250mA NiMH charger)
  • AA
  • 1.2V
  • 1300mAh
  • $15 @ Chong Hock Kiulap

batteries in packaging
batteries being charged
I just found them unique and gadget guy in me couldn’t resist. Too bad it’s only 1300mAh which is pretty dismal when they have batteries of double that capacity. But anyway it’ll help me de-clutter the area with out the need for a wall charger.

Not so subtly

podcasts

  • $6 for photo print (8″ by 12″ I believe) at Hua Ho Kiulap
  • $2.50 for plastic envelope
  • ‘Free’ – 2 strips of double sided tape from my stationery stash

I guess the idea came from Leah Culver and her laser-etched Macbook Pro but I’m just giving free advertising to great free content on the web. My DIY fixture hides any laptop branding and is interchangeable when the time comes. Yay! Couldn’t use stickers or anything big like that though, since it is the laptop work ‘loaned’ to me to, well errrr… work =P

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