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Silly Debates...; We need answers to them too!
Topic Started: Jul 29 2007, 01:02 PM (546 Views)
Nibsi
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Te zijner tijd
Well, the difference is probably in that the machinery and efficiency for new products is already there. If it truly was cheaper for a company to go for recycled stuff instead, and get the investment back in a reasonable time, I'm sure they would've gone over to recycling.

Here we also can return the bottles (plastic, and also glass bottles, and entire beer crates) for what we call 'statiegeld' (container deposit legislation).
-Nibby
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Well, I think we've talked about water before here, in that London water tastes heavily of chlorine. Some parts of the country have much nicer tasting water. But bottles I take to the recycling centre. Sadly I'm in the minority in my block of flats as I regularly find the chutes blocked with some carrier bag full of empty cans and bottles. Lazy &*^$^Łers. And I should point out we have bins where you can recycle glass, cans, aluminium and paper.

I think an ideal use for recycled paper is, toilet paper. I remember even back in the 80s in Germany even then that pretty much the only toilet paper you could buy was recycled. Over here it is about as expensive as the 'luxury' brands and not surprisingly people opt for the cheaper brands. I am puzzled by the expense as you don't need to bleach the toilet paper (in Germany it was always grey and no-one had a problem with it), but then heavens forbid someone's toilet paper doesn't match their décor. :rolleyes:

But to answer your question Bex, I think the chemical processing of the paper must play a part in the expense. I suppose it is also like glass, where the actual collected product is practically worthless, and so there is little incentive to recycle it in economic terms (ie costs more to collect than you get from selling it on), and at the moment everything comes down to the bottom line. Until it isn't I don't think there will be significant change.

Also does every document have to be printed out on pristine white paper? I always found it amusing in this digital age, that the first thing people do when they had a document, e-mail, message, whatever was to print it out!

But the UK is terrible for waste, a recent statistic shows that 1/3rd of all food bought is thrown away. That is staggeringly wasteful.
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
We have recycling bins that are emptied by the council every two weeks, as well as green waste bins: it's part of normal rubbish collection here. Also, if you have a sticker on your letter box saying "No Junk Mail Please" the junk mail deliverers spare you.

The concern over plastic waste is a furphy. I bet the people complaining about bottled water own shares in Pepsi and Coke, and want people to drink more crap, and less water. They don't complain about it here: mainly because Coke and the other big soft-drink makers produce the bottled water. <_<

Advertising and junk mail - now that is a blight on the universe. It comes in the newspaper, for God's sake. Companies spend millions on junk mail, and if it were abolished tomorrow, the printing industry would all but disappear. Mr.FPS' company prints about one non-junk mail catalogue/item a year, and it runs 24/7.
Our plastic/paper/glass/aluminium recycling bin is twice as big as our household waste bin. It is full of junk mail at the end of two weeks.
Companies can budget for it, so it is made. Despite the fact that most people don't want it.
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
I think Toronto city council was wise when it decided to start picking up garbage every two weeks, but compost every week. We can put a lot of stuff in the compost bin, including disposable diapers and kitty litter, for example. On the weeks we can't put garbage out, we can put recycling out, and they pick up yard waste every week in spring and fall, every other week in summer.

One of the problems with bottled water is water waste. Reverse osmosis uses a heck of a lot of water to produce one bottle (don't know the exact figure, too lazy to check), and that's what a lot of it is. Here, use of water by bottlers is becoming contentious - they get huge, cheap licences to take a lot of water, and water is beginning to become more precious, even in water-filled Canada. It's a total scam.

I have never understood buying bottled water from France. Isn't that one of the countries where they tell you not to drink the water?
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Perrier has good marketing. They were the "original" bottled water brand. They even got caught out labelling it as "naturally carbonated" when they were adding it themselves.
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Regullus
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Reliant
San Pelligrino is Italian but it's owned by the same company. Perrier sucks. I like San Pelligrino because it contains calcium. 4% of the daily requirement in a serving.

I asked my brother what he thought of the great bottled water debate and he said he believed it was due to waste problems in major muncipalities and was an attempt to pressure the companies to change the packaging. He also mentioned the starch based plastics decompose in ten days!

However, I read an article about the decomposition rate of plastic which is known only in theory although plastic bottle manufacters say plastic "decomposes"into microscopic particulates and is then ingested by insects which I tend to believe. A banana skin will decompose in three days however how dumps are made prevents decomposition and instead mummifies even a banana skin. :blink:

I love the fact Australia asks you if you want junk mail or not. Fantastic. My mother will probably want to move there now. Its the most civilized thing I've ever heard.

The mention of France made me realize the first I ever saw bottled water was in France and I assumed it was due to poor water sources but I was too afraid of appearing gauche to ask.

Also, the US's most popular bottled water brands are owned by Coke and Pepsi and contain filtered tap water.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Krazy
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I haz powah!
We have the telephone and mail preference service. Notify them of your address and phone number and you will not be targeted with mail or cold sell phone calls. I registered years ago for both and remain pretty much junk-mail free.


Silly debate II. The Insanity Strikes Back

Are there any good American sitcoms now that Frasier is finished?


"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Nibsi
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Te zijner tijd
Well, the best sitcom out there happens to be an American one. Scrubs! ^^
-Nibby
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/consumer...tled-water.html

The other thing about bottled water is that mould can grow in the bottles - not necessarily the kind you see - and the plastic leaches chemicals into the water, so you never know what's in there.

Personally, I use a Britta filter on tap water, which comes with it's own problems, I know. It tastes better than unfiltered tap water, though.

My favourite water is Fernie, B.C., tap water. It comes from an underground stream, almost never needs any kind of treatment and tastes fantastic.
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Regullus
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Reliant
RE: Sitcoms - I haven't the foggiest, haven't watched network tv in years. At least there's Scrubs. Oh, I am aware of a show called Ugly Betty based on a Latin American show. It's popular and has also won emmys whether its really any good. :unsure:

What are the must see tv of everybody's respective countries?

RE: Water: My brother uses a filter at his house but I forget why, Hmm, now that I think of it, most of the people I know use a filter, I believe they all have specific but different reasons. I don't do anything to mine.

tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Bex and I like Corner Gas, but people might know that already. I think it's due to air on an American network starting in September. Not sure how well it will translate.
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Yes, Scrubs is pure awesome (Doh!), but not sure whether it is the best compared to some of the British stuff. My sister and I were talking about this because Britain seems to be in a lull too, compared to the highlights of the past, Fawlty Towers, One foot in the Grave, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf, Blackadder. But then some I liked it's most likely you won't have seen, Black Books, Father Ted, The Smoking Room, Nighty Night (very disturbing) and The League of Gentlemen (very surreal).

Ugly Betty? No, not funny really, and not a sitcom as such. For American stuff, Cheers, M*A*S*H, Frasier and Seinfeld were my favs. Friends was clever when it was new, but by the end it was terrible and Will and Grace, oh dear, I only ever found Karen funny.

And Corner Gas, nope, I know you two have spoken of it before, but it has yet to come to us. And Aussie sitcoms, well, Kath and Kim Series 1, was also very good. Not so much the later ones.
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
One funny show here was "Thank God You're Here." Comedians would be dropped into a stage scene and have to respond to to the scripted lines without knowing what the story was.
Other than that, I assume comedians are doing a lot of stand up, are working as radio hosts or starving: because the ABC isn't making comedy anymore, and the commercial channels don't like risking money on new ideas. "Thank God You're Here" was the first comedy show produced since K and K.

Father Ted was side-wrenchingly funny. A friend of my dad's, an Irish priest, used to ring my dad and say "Did you see 'Father Ted' last night?" Loved Black Books, too.
The League of Gentlemen and Little Britain, I didn't like so much: the parody is a bit strong for me - I have no fondness for the characters.

Scrubs never drew me: the advertising put me off. It appeared to be all about medical students having sex in cupboards. :unsure:
The greatest sit-com ever was "Soap." A parody of soap operas, it was the funniest show to come out of America.
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Krazy
Aug 18 2007, 08:26 AM
Father Ted

My mom-in-law loves Father Ted. Haven't gotten into it myself.

I like Scrubs and I liked M*A*S*H. Fawlty Towers may be my all-time favourite.
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
Monty Python. :)
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Of COURSE, Eral, except I don't think it counts as a sitcom. I'm a Monty Python geek from high school days - in other words, way back.
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
How's this for a silly debate?

Krazy:

1. should
2. shouldn't have

called this thread "Random debates."

Discuss. If you really have to.
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
I can't get into Monty Python.
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Regullus
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Reliant
Should.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Krazy
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I haz powah!
:'( Should. :blush: But only because you introduced a semi-serious debate!
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
But anyway, a question for you members of the fairer sex.

Do women not like ginger-haired men? If you had the choice of identical men, but one blonde, one black, one brown and one ginger haired, which one would you choose?

(This debate prompted after watching a TV programme)
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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LizDiggory
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Breakfast
Personally I go for blondes and redheads of all shades, tis why I dig Kelsey so much. :-*
Posted Image
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
I don't think I've ever heard a woman speak well of a man because of his red hair.
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Krazy
Aug 21 2007, 10:27 PM
Do women not like ginger-haired men? If you had the choice of identical men, but one blonde, one black, one brown and one ginger haired, which one would you choose?

I dated a very hot firefighter with red hair.

My husband's beard used to be shot with red. Now it's grey.

So yeah, I guess I like men with red hair.

As for which I'd pick of the identical men but for their hair... uh... I'd be hopelessly confused by the fact that there were clones who'd died their hair different colours. Honestly, it doesn't matter much. If I really cared, I'd get my husband to dye his hair, as I do mine.
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Bex
puppet dictator
Joe
Aug 21 2007, 07:06 PM
I don't think I've ever heard a woman speak well of a man because of his red hair.

My mother is nuts for redheads (see my father for an example).

Her brunette children (read: all of us) are a terrible disappointment to her.

I've liked boys/men with any hair colour, natural or dyed. Or shaved bald. Or naturally balding, in at least one case. I don't think it's a deciding factor.
I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should,
but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed.
-Min Jin Lee
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