First San Francisco banned it. Then Chicago started taxing it. Now, the New York City is taking action against bottled water; last week, Mayor Greg Nickels signed an executive order to stop the corporate event planner from buying bottled water. That means no more bottled water at city facilities and events, which may sound like a small step, but it'll make a big difference; last year, the city spent $58,000 on the stuff (and that's not including the true cost and carbon footprint of bottled water). We're willing to bet that the city's taxpayers can probably think of about 58,000 ways to better spend that money.
The move isn't just an issue of saving money, though that is a nice ancillary effect. It's also a strong vote of confidence in the city's municipal water supply and treatment systems; in light of the fracas about prescription drugs in our water last week, it's good to see the city standing behind its tap water and encouraging its employees and citizens to drink up.
Further, “This is a matter of leading by example,” Nickels said. “The people of Seattle own one of the best water supplies in the country, every bit as good as bottled water and available at a fraction of the price. When you add up the tremendous environmental costs of disposable plastic bottles clogging our landfills, the better choice is crystal clear.”
According to the city's press release, "The mayor’s order -- which applies only to city departments -- is the first step in an effort to promote Seattle’s water and get people to consider kicking the bottle habit." What else does the Emerald City have up her sleeve? Grab a glass of tap water, take a sip and stay tuned for more. ::City of Seattle and ::Seattle Times via ::Greenline
See also: ::A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water, :Drugs Are In Our Water! Should I Switch to Bottled?, and ::Bottled Water Drinkers are the New Smokers(www.mp3ok.net)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Church Sex Challenge
A Florida church is urging its married members to have sex everyday for the next 30 days.
The Relevant Church’s Pastor Paul Wirth says he believes the “30 Day Sex Challenge” will help combat America’s rising divorce rate.
“We wanted to be able to help couples, both married and single, to really refocus their sex lives around what God’s principles are,” Wirth explained.
Wirth says he came up with the idea because so many people have brought up the issue that they have “no time for sex”.
Single people also have a challenge: They will have to abstain from sex.
“We’re asking the single people to say take a break from sex, maybe take a sex detox for 30 days,” Wirth said.
Pastor Wirth says while this challenge should rekindle passion and affection in marriages.
It will also teach singles to appreciate themselves and their partners without the sex.(www.mp3ok.net)
The Relevant Church’s Pastor Paul Wirth says he believes the “30 Day Sex Challenge” will help combat America’s rising divorce rate.
“We wanted to be able to help couples, both married and single, to really refocus their sex lives around what God’s principles are,” Wirth explained.
Wirth says he came up with the idea because so many people have brought up the issue that they have “no time for sex”.
Single people also have a challenge: They will have to abstain from sex.
“We’re asking the single people to say take a break from sex, maybe take a sex detox for 30 days,” Wirth said.
Pastor Wirth says while this challenge should rekindle passion and affection in marriages.
It will also teach singles to appreciate themselves and their partners without the sex.(www.mp3ok.net)
Mutual fund investors and The Dollar
(www.importmag.cn)Approximately 95 percent of investors and traders identify themselves as contrarians.
An equally approximate and complementary 5 percent actually comport themselves in
a contrarian manner.
Have you yet to hear a self-important financial swami getup on television and declare, “Yeah, I run with the herd. Get
a hunch, buy a bunch — you know the drill: I buy when everyone else is buying and sell when everyone else is selling.
How else do you propose I keep a 1-percent managementfee on other people’s money?”
Even more remarkable are the number of services who sell information based on the premise your fellow human
beings are dolts. These include private sentiment surveys,brokerages tallying up their clients’
positions, and even official readings such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments
of Traders (COT) reports.
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) collects data on flows into and
out of mutual funds. Similar data exist for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but as the mutual fund data have a longer
history and are not changing as rapidly as the ETF data, we will confine ourselves to the mutual fund flows below.
What determines flows?
A presumption derived from herding behavior is, flows follow performance:
Investors are scared to buy at marketlows and then come storming in well after a bullish move is underway.
This seems so apparent on the face it scarcely warrants a cocked eyebrow. A corollary should apply to factors
affecting markets as well: In the case of the dollar, we should have every reason to expect American investors to keep their funds parked at home when
the dollar is strong and chase foreign assets higher when a declining dollar is making them more expensive.
An equally approximate and complementary 5 percent actually comport themselves in
a contrarian manner.
Have you yet to hear a self-important financial swami getup on television and declare, “Yeah, I run with the herd. Get
a hunch, buy a bunch — you know the drill: I buy when everyone else is buying and sell when everyone else is selling.
How else do you propose I keep a 1-percent managementfee on other people’s money?”
Even more remarkable are the number of services who sell information based on the premise your fellow human
beings are dolts. These include private sentiment surveys,brokerages tallying up their clients’
positions, and even official readings such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments
of Traders (COT) reports.
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) collects data on flows into and
out of mutual funds. Similar data exist for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but as the mutual fund data have a longer
history and are not changing as rapidly as the ETF data, we will confine ourselves to the mutual fund flows below.
What determines flows?
A presumption derived from herding behavior is, flows follow performance:
Investors are scared to buy at marketlows and then come storming in well after a bullish move is underway.
This seems so apparent on the face it scarcely warrants a cocked eyebrow. A corollary should apply to factors
affecting markets as well: In the case of the dollar, we should have every reason to expect American investors to keep their funds parked at home when
the dollar is strong and chase foreign assets higher when a declining dollar is making them more expensive.
Lens Cleaning
Dirty lenses—fingerprints, dust, dirt, lint, fibers, food or beverage bits, even rainwater droplets—
can diminish image quality. And, depending upon the offending abrasiveness or chemical
composition of the particulate, it can even permanently damage your expensive lens. Periodic
lens cleaning should become part of your photographic routine. It needn’t be an elaborate nor
time-consuming process if you follow a few basic principles:
■ Before applying any cloth or solvent, use a small camel’s hair brush or rubber bulb to remove
dirt or dust. That will keep you from inadvertently rubbing abrasive particles into the lens.
■ Use only soft, lint-free tissues or cloth to touch the lens. Never apply pressure when
cleaning.
■ Use a rubber bulb to blow dust off the lens. Canned pressurized air projects a stream of liquid,
which is so ultra-cold that it can actually crack the glass. However, you can use canned
air to clean the lens barrel.
■ If you wish to apply a liquid lens cleaner, use only a solvent specifically designed for a camera
lens. Eyeglass solvents can be caustic and eventually damage the thin color-coated
layer on the front elements of your lens. We actually prefer gently blowing our moist breath
onto the lens rather than using a commercial cleaning lens solvent.
■ Never apply any liquid solvent directly onto the lens. Instead, trickle a few drops onto a lintfree
tissue or cloth.
■ Clean in a circular motion, outward from the center of the lens to the edges.
■ When not in use, store your lens in a camera bag or lens case with both the front and rear
caps on.
Lastly, don’t be obsessive/compulsive about cleaning your lenses. Overcleaning can negatively
affect your lens’s color coating.
www.importmag.cn
can diminish image quality. And, depending upon the offending abrasiveness or chemical
composition of the particulate, it can even permanently damage your expensive lens. Periodic
lens cleaning should become part of your photographic routine. It needn’t be an elaborate nor
time-consuming process if you follow a few basic principles:
■ Before applying any cloth or solvent, use a small camel’s hair brush or rubber bulb to remove
dirt or dust. That will keep you from inadvertently rubbing abrasive particles into the lens.
■ Use only soft, lint-free tissues or cloth to touch the lens. Never apply pressure when
cleaning.
■ Use a rubber bulb to blow dust off the lens. Canned pressurized air projects a stream of liquid,
which is so ultra-cold that it can actually crack the glass. However, you can use canned
air to clean the lens barrel.
■ If you wish to apply a liquid lens cleaner, use only a solvent specifically designed for a camera
lens. Eyeglass solvents can be caustic and eventually damage the thin color-coated
layer on the front elements of your lens. We actually prefer gently blowing our moist breath
onto the lens rather than using a commercial cleaning lens solvent.
■ Never apply any liquid solvent directly onto the lens. Instead, trickle a few drops onto a lintfree
tissue or cloth.
■ Clean in a circular motion, outward from the center of the lens to the edges.
■ When not in use, store your lens in a camera bag or lens case with both the front and rear
caps on.
Lastly, don’t be obsessive/compulsive about cleaning your lenses. Overcleaning can negatively
affect your lens’s color coating.
www.importmag.cn
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