Thanks for the suggestion -- I will check that out!

Howdy - sorry for the delay, was traveling on business. The issue you are referring to below with regards to reusable water bottles is I believe related to the type of liner (thin coating of polymer based material that is coated on the inside of some but not all of these bottles). In most cases when polymers come in contact with food (incl. water) the concerns are usually not in the polymer itself, but in some of the additives (processing aids, plasticizers, anti-oxidants, UV stabilizers, pigments etc) that in some cases have negative impacts on some human metabolic processes. I would emphasize 'some'. The recent outrage over BPA is not supported unequivocally by scientific evidence, but there is enough uncertainty to move away from it as a plasticizer in PET bottles. If one was to use a food grade polyethylene or polypropylene water bottle, requiring no liner, and totally suitable as a water bottle, then there is no concern at all with the long term use of this material in water bottles. Next time you go through the grocery store, have a look at all the packaging - films on processed meets, stretch wrap on fresh meat cuts, all of your cold dairy products - the vast majority of these are made from one of either polyethylene or polypropylene, with a smattering of polystyrene and polyvinylidene chloride thrown in. All perfectly safe.

As for how the balls are made - these are blow molded. If you have a look at the plastic baseballs made for kids that come with a big fat plastic bat (or really any hard plastic ball that you might find at Wal Mart or Toys'R'Us, you'll see the small ridge that runs equatorially around the circumference of the ball (that's the parting line where the two mold halves come together) and somewhere on that line there will be either a little tiny hole or a small protruding knob that used to be the parison where the air was injected into the small plastic glob forcing it to the walls of the mold like an expanding balloon. This is the same type of molding that makes your liquid dishwashing detergent bottle, plastic ketchup and mustard containers, and plastic milk jugs. Hope this helps a bit. cheers

Happy anniversary! Today marks year number 3 since you first became a Sifter and the community is better for having you. Thanks for your contributions!

Kids in the Hall is my favorite sketch comedy group of all time. Monty Python a close second. I just think those Canadians are cuter crossdressers.

*quality

Actually, since the development of adaptive optics, ground based telescopes aren't obsolete at all. Even without adaptive optics they have their uses, and some interesting science is done with them.

Getting telescope time on a space based telescope (or large ground based telescope for that matter) is quite hard, which limits the things astronomers can do with them.

I hear you.

My dad was a rural Oklahoma farm boy depression era baby. Ten cents an hour he was paid.

He would leave a dollar tip. ONE DOLLAR.

I would do the same thing -- go back and leave more.

He finally got it, and started tipping better. But it took a long time.

He's legitimately uncomfortable.

He looks like a trapped animal to me, angry at being cornered.

Management never will do that -- I'm betting in part because he actually gets more attention with this than he would if he talked.

It is all so messed up.

And yeah -- it gets back to the media, doesn't it? They know who he is. He has been clear he won't talk. And yet here they come.

Pisses me off.

No love for the Bruins? I'm appalled.

I somewhat support the Pats because my dad liked them because Brady is the QB and he went to Michigan and the Lions sucked for so long (yes weird logic). I don't care much for the Sox (or baseball in general) except for when they beat the Yankees.

you would be correct my friend,but i am cheating a bit.i grew up in rhode island and burr is from boston.

same diff.we all root for the sox and patriots!

I do wish there was a short, non-insulting phrase that covers this complex situation.

Unfortunately, in our sound bite world, and with my short fuse, I regrettably fall back on the short insult.

It also kinda works, which is unfortunate. Conflict draws eyes, ideas can be exchanged, the education can happen.

I can get educated, too -- sometimes people don't know that I have shifted my position, because I do it so quickly when a good point is made. And sometimes, I dig my heels in and don't listen. Which is an education in itself, when I reflect later.

It's all good.

I do appreciate your calm manner. Thank you.

Happy anniversary! Today marks year number 2 since you first became a Sifter and the community is better for having you. Thanks for your contributions!

Happy anniversary! Today marks year number 1 since you first became a Sifter and the community is better for having you. Thanks for your contributions!