Posts from — January 2008

I saw this commercial today and it brought tears to my eyes.

Just watch it.

For those of you in the Pikes Peak Region, Bristol Brewing is beginning their 10 week Beer school tonight. Classes will be each Monday from 6:00-8:00 PM.

The course begins with Beer 101: Intro to beer, continues with 200 level classes on different beer styles and finally 300 level classes dealing with Food and Beer, Home Drought Systems (i.e. Kegerator), Environmental issues and Beer Chemistry taught by Bristol’s own Microbiologist, Ken Andrews. Check this out for the full course catalog.
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It saddens me to see the number of outdoor related negative articles in the news these days. I know that some of the articles concern human error, others stupidity and a few plain and simple malice. A breakdown of the articles I am speaking of is this; Snowmobilers lost during winter storm, Two backcountry skiers lost feared dead, Man sues boy for reckless skiing, Colorado transplant to Georgia backpacker missing and presumed dead, the list seems endless these days. I am not sure if the availability of mass media is the reason that we are so aware of the accidents/tragedies that occur or if there are simply more people outdoors or if there are more idiots vie-ing for a ever so coveted Darwin Award. This is ridiculous what is going on here? With these reports, found just this week we all must look at the direction our outdoor activities take us and be certain we are prepared and well informed about the areas we are traveling as well as the activities we are participating in. Now I am no alarmist and I would hate to dissuade people from getting out into nature, however know your abilities and take reasonable precautions!!

UPDATE:  If you’re worried about drinking out of water bottles with BPA.  Check out our list of BPA free Alternatives.

After all that ranting and raving about Nalgenes here we are dying of cancer at the hand of our water bottles. What is the world coming to? Is nothing sacred? We are now faced with the possibility that our Nalgene bottles are potentially dangerous. Now to some this is nothing new, some companies actually began removing water bottles and other food containers made with Bisphenol A two years ago (Patagonia Inc., and Whole Foods Markets) due to research showing the potential for medical problems as a result of this substance being release into what ever food or drink was contained in it.

Here is an excerpt from Reuters:

Bisphenol A is added to hard, clear polycarbonate plastics like those used in reusable water bottles and baby bottles, as well as the resins lining food cans and in some dental amalgams and sealants, said Aaron Freeman, policy and campaign director at Environmental Defence, an environmental advocacy group.

Research on lab animals has linked the chemical to changes to the genital tract, prostate enlargement, declined testosterone levels, pre-cancerous breast cells, prostate cancer, early puberty in females and hyperactivity.

Essentially is seems as though the only real threat is if the bottle is heated or begins to breakdown such as if it starts to warp. But who knows it seems as though everything will give you cancer these days.
The FDA is actually conducting tests currently and a report is due out this summer. And just to clarify not all Nalgene bottles are made with the nastiness, some are safe… for now.

Thanks guys. Alright I know I am in fact welcoming myself back, but since no one else has I figured I should. So take the thanks and deal with it.

We had a blast these past few weeks and now I am ready to jump back in to the swing of things. As soon as I get a chance I will post some picture of both the trip to Costa Rica as well as the trip to North Carolina.

There are a lot of interesting things going on in the outdoor and beer drinking world that I am looking forward to sharing with you, however the first is the story of those outdoor staples that we all know and love Nalgenes!! Yeah! Hooray for Nalgenes! You see I have a theory about Nalgenes and I have determined that each person is destined only to have a predetermined number of Nalgenes and should that person acquire more that they should the additional bottles subsequently disappear.

For instance I now realize that I am destined only to have five Nalgenes. For years I have had these bottles and it seems that as I acquire more I always seem to lose them and I always am left with five. So five is my predetermined Nalgene number. The funny thing about that is the Nalgene seems to have a mind of its own, when purchased the bottles are glossy and pristen, gleaming in perfection. This soon goes by the wayside as we tend to make them ours with stickers and personality. The stickers, you see are our way of marking our territory, much in the same way a dog pisses on their favorite tree. But the true beauty of the Nalgene is that they are social butterflies, they are left in friends vehicles after a hike or often borrowed, lent or acquired (stolen).

Which is where I come back to the predetermined number of Nalgenes. You see once a Nalgene comes to you (and yes they do just appear) you now must piss on it (with stickers not urine). First you have to remove any stickers you dislike and then place your own all over it. And voila you now have a new Nalgene!!!

Here is my newest.

Thank you Juicebox!