Decided to drive to Maryland with the folks for Turkeyday. Should have brought Tanya, but she had to work the first part of the week.
It’s relaxing to be on vacation…but I’m reminded why I don’t live with these people anymore. 
It’s good to feel like family again – though it’s not at all complete without Becky and her kids here.
Saw the following post in a slashdot article about using a cheap water filter to make cheap vodka taste better:
Post title: Speaking of Filters…
Author: H0NGK0NGPH00EY
I think this would be a good place to post an email exchange that my best friend had with random representative (whoever answers the emails sent to the help address) at PUR.
> From: Willett, J.R.
> Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 3:16 PM
> Subject: PUR
>
> Hi
>
> I received a PUR Water Filtration Pitcher (Plus LX, Platinum Edition) as a
> Christmas present, and I have a question about what things it can’t
> filter.
>
> I have been very satisfied with its performance in removing chlorine from
> tapwater, however I am wondering what the limits are in its filtering
> capabilities. Could it, for instance, remove ammonia from an ammonia-water
> solution? In other words, could I use it in the desert to recycle urine
> into
> drinking water? The box says a lot about what it can filter, but not much
> about what it can’t filter. It only says that the water must be sterile,
> and
> everyone knows that urine is completely sterile on leaving the body. Upon
> leaving the urinary tract, it provides an ideal environment for growing
> bacteria, but it is completely sterile inside you. The reason we don’t
> habitually drink our own urine is because the water in our urine carries
> bodily poisons with it, including ammonia. If, however, your pitcher can
> remove these poisons, I can see how my PUR Water Filtration Pitcher could
> come in handy when water is scarce.
>
> Although my roommate has offered to sample my filtered urine, I thought I
> would ask you people first, before I pee in my PUR pitcher.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -J.R. Willett
—–Original Message—–
From: Beckenbach.Mark [mailto:Beckenbach.Mark@purwater.com]
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2000 9:38 AM
To: ‘Willett, J.R.’
Subject: RE: PUR
Hello J.R.,
Gee-Whiz, I must admit that I read your e-mail with some skepticism. Upon
further reflection I came to the conclusion that you could indeed run human
urine through our filters. If you do this it could very well hasten your
way to death, but you can filter urine. We don’t normally test urine or the
body’s by-products associated with it. Drinking urine is a bit out of the
main stream, if you’ll pardon the pun. The filter may have some effect on
the potency of the ammonia. If you’re in an emergency situation with out
water, drinking urine will only make your day worse. The ammonia in urine
isn’t what’s going to ruin an already pisser of a day, its the salts. By
constantly reintroducing those salts into your system, you are increasing
the amount of salt in your system, and decreasing the amount of usable
fluids. This salt will draw water from other tissues in your body, as will
your kidneys. Your kidneys need the extra water to flush the salts out.
It’s a viscous circle. As your kidneys are shutting down, the poisons in
your body will increase; thereby playing havoc with your heart. The lack of
electrolytes in your in your brain can cause the synapses to misfire
eventually causing you to get delirious and run screaming into the desert
waving your hands over your head chasing Elvis.
All levity aside, I am not a physician. However I do understand our
products and have a thorough understanding of human physiology. My
recommendation is not to do it. Carry a bladder of water in your trunk.
Being prepared is the best way to keep from having to drink pee.
Mahalo,
Mark
—–Original Message—–
From: Willett, J.R.
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2000 10:17 AM
Subject: RE: PUR
Mark,
Thankyou for your timely reply in this matter. Not only have you saved us from what could have been a disasterous science experiment, but you have provided a tremendous amount of amusement to several college students with perhaps too much time on their hands to wonder about such things.
I assume that if the filter cannot remove the salt from urine, then neither could it be used to filter ocean water to obtain something drinkable, another thing we were wondering about. Your skills in customer service extend even to answering the questions I did not ask.
Have a pleasant day, and let me know if your R&D boys ever come up with a filter that can desalinate sea water and/or recycle human waste. I’ll be the first to buy, if only for the bragging rights.
-J.R.
Nice flash animation:
http://www.syntheticniche.com/comics/notblog_flash.html
Think I’m going to need more information before I get really involved — where should I look?
If things keep going this way, this is what the map will be like in 20 years:
Oh, and this is priceless: http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-balboanov08,0,3274850.story?coll=all-newsopinionletters-hed
I thought there would be a little more restraint from the networks.
MSNBC is projecting races and states are locked in, without even updating their graphics to display the votes??!?
Looks like their using exit polls, which we saw last time was a huge mistake…