Last weekend I gathered up all my trusty Nalgene bottles and put them away for good.  There's been a lot of coverage about those bottles and the cancer causing BPA from which they are made.  The news came out several months ago, and I didn't deem it necessary to stop using them, figuring it was just another health scare.  The reports have intensified these last few weeks and seems we've been getting a lot of news agencies trying to use our bottle collection process as a backdrop for their news reports.  Anyway last week I read that Nalgene was pulling all those bottles from the shelves of retailers nationwide.  I took that to be a pretty good sign I shouldn't use them anymore.  They are making new BPA-free bottles so look out for those, of course you can also use the old school milky-white Nalgene bottles or pick up a cool Sigg bottle, like the ones in front here.  

Nalgene and other Lexan bottles have been a staple of our generation, kind of sad to see their demise.

caLI

Last weekend, Dave and Jackie visited us from California. We took a few days off work and hung out with them doing touristy things, my in-laws joined us for most of the weekend as well. Elizabeth did a good job recapping the weekend, so check it out there , just thought I'd add some other pictures.
The first night out we ended up at a private party room, which used to be a law library, here I am catching up on my favorite torts.
Spent the next day being all touristy, here we are on the architectural boat tour.
Ended up at Wrigley watching the Cubs open a can on the Pirates (sorry Dan)

The Breakdown

Our car broke down this week, just a couple faulty sensors, nothing huge, it was all covered under warranty, so it wasn't a huge deal. This was our first time dealing with the Mazda dealer since we bought our car there and I must say it was a pleasant experience. They don't give out courtesy cars there though, what they do is send you next door to the Enterprise Rent A Car and set you up there. They gave me a Chevy Equinox and I was impressed with it, it's a sweet ride. It's supposed to be a smaller suv but it felt pretty big to me, anyway if it wasn't an suv I'd consider it for my next purchase, regardless it has made me reconsider Chevy cars and GM in general I guess. I wonder if the Mazda dealer thinks about things like that when they send me to the rental company to test drive other cars.

New Computer

A few weeks ago our computer died. I spent a couple of days trying to decide whether to get another desktop computer or a laptop. I decided to go with a laptop for its versatility even though I don't have a job where I would need one and most of its use would be at home anyway. I figured with being involved with the Communications and Arts Committee at church and worship leading it could be useful to have a laptop. Still getting adjusted to the new operating system and trying to figure out how to load some open source programs I use a lot on it. It hasn't been as simple as those commercials make it out to be, but I'm not complaining.

A letter from God to Man

I just heard this song, pretty cool go listen to it, it's a poem read over a remixed Radiohead song, here are the lyrics:

Letter from God to Man (Scroobius Pip)

Hey there.
How's it going?
Long
Time
No
See.
I know I haven't been around much but it didn't seem like you wanted me to be.

the last time I sent down a message, you nailed it to a cross.
So I figured I'd just leave you to it and be your own boss.

But I've been keeping an eye on you, I have. And it's amazing how you've grown.
All your technological advances and the problems you've overthrown.

All the beautiful art you've created with such grace and such finesse.
But I must admit there are a few things that, I'm afraid, Have impressed me less.

So I'm writing to apologise for all the horrors committed in my name.
Although it was never what I intended I feel I should take my share of the blame.

A lot of the good I tried to do was corrupted when organised religion got into full swing.
What I thought were quite clear messages were taken to unusual extremes.

My teachings were taken out of context to meet the agenda of others.
Interpretations were taken in many different ways and hidden meanings 'discovered.'

Religion became a tool for the weak to control the strong.
With all these new morals and ethics survival of the fittest was gone.

No longer could the biggest man simply take what ever he needed,
Because damnation was the price if certain rules were not heeded.

Some of the deeds committed in my name just make me wonder where I went wrong.
Back at the start when I 'created' all of this, the foundations seemed so strong.

See all the elements wee already here long before I began.
I just kind of put them all together. I didn't really think out a long term plan.

I made the sun an appropriate distance and laid the starts across the sky,
So you could navigate this globe or simply experience a sunrise.

I covered the earth with plants and fruits, some for sustenance and some for beauty.
And made the sun shine and clouds rain so that maintenance wasn't your duty.

I tried to give each creature its own attributes. But without making them enveloped.
I gave you all space to grow and, in your own way, space to develop.

I didn't know that such development would cause rifts and jealousy.
Cause you to war against each other and leave marks on this planet indelibly.

You see, I wasn't the creator, more the curator of nature.
And I want to set things straight with homosexuals right now; I DON'T hate ya.

I was a simple being that happened to be the first to yield such powers.
But I just laid the ground. It was you that built the towers.

It was you that invented bombs and fear that comes with them.
It was you that invented money, and corrupt economic systems.

You invented terms like 'just wars' and terms like 'friendly fire,'
And it was you that didn't know when to stop digging deeper and when to stop building higher.

It was you that exhausted the resources I carefully laid out on this earth,
And it was you that even saw these problems coming but accredited them little worth.

It was you that used my teachings for your own personal gain
And it was you that committed such tragedies, even if they were in my name.

So i apologise for any mistakes I made and for when my words were misconstrued,
But this apology is to Mother Nature because I created you.

Guitar Zeros

Next time I'm out in California I'm going to try to find these guys where they are playing. The band is called Guitar Zeros and they make music, real music using their Guitar Hero guitars hooked up to their computers. Looks pretty cool. If you want to try your hand at making some beautiful music they share their secrets here.

Here's an intro video about the band and what they do: