Remington, Ribbons, and Water Purifiers

Remington typewriter

This week I made a rare day trip out of town. To help pay off the student loan I've made a serious effort to limit my wandering to local stops and I do my best to consolidate my errands. At times this is hard for me. I was raised on cheap gas and my family loved to jump in the car and take a weekend trip. Even when gas prices climbed I'd still pick a spot on the map and go there or take an hour and head down a road I hadn't traveled before. But I have made a choice to do otherwise, so I wait for those unavoidable trips and make the best of them when they occur.

One of those unavoidable trips came up last week. On the way I stopped at a large flea market I used to frequent. Fact: Flea markets flourish when times get financially tougher and people remember that second-hand sometimes saves a lot of money. And, if you have eclectic tastes (some say bizarre) like mine, you can't expect to be sufficiently entertained by a somethingMart. There just isn't enough variety of taste there.

Christmas decorations

Here's a little $40 Remington typewriter cozied up next to some nightstands and baby swings. It is an elegant and sturdy little machine and the tag reassured me that it “Works!”. Of course there is the matter of ribbons. I don't dabble in typewriters but I have a friend who does, I will have to ask her (Elegant Astronaut blog) if you can still find ribbons for these.

Coincidentally this week, I intercepted four boxes of things headed to the dumpster. Two were boxes of vintagesque Christmas decorations and the others were boxes of typewriter ribbons. The ribbons were for Selectrics and other electric type typewriters that have been replaced by word processing and email. If anyone needs/wants these ribbons, get in touch please. They are MIB (mint in box).

Olivetti, Panasonic, Swintec, Cannon

Technology obsoletes many things, like knowledge and equipment. Many products have a really short life span, especially in comparison to the materials, labor, and disposal costs. So should we make things that last longer or things that cost less and are easier to recycle? Good question.

Speaking of questions, I got a question last week about whole house water purifiers. I found out a few things in my research. First, you need to figure out why you want/need a purifier. Is it visible contamination (you will probably need a whole house type). Is it dangerous contaminants you know are in your community system ( you may want to ask them about contaminant spikes)? Did someone scare you into thinking the only way to be safe and healthy is to buy one. The way to answer these questions is to get a report on your water quality. A public utility must report every year on the water quality, start there. You should be able to get a copy from the water company or at your public library. If you think it is something in your house system, have your water analyzed (maybe start with the local health department). Based on these results you should be able to choose between a whole house type and a point of use type filter. You need to match the filter to the problem and to do this effectively you will need to know exactly what you want to filter out.

Put prayers here

Also remember there is upkeep involved in any filtration system. Check on difficulty, cost, and schedules when choosing between systems. Pelican Water Systems is a LEED registered system so there is at least one out there. Some  systems are probably massive overkill and expense. Don't let someone scare you into buying something you don't need. Do some research first, you'll be glad in the long run.

While I was in that flea market I saw this prayer collection tin. Maybe my theology doesn't exactly match up with this person's but I do admire their effort to integrate their spirituality with their work and interests. I also admire their faith and willingness to show concern for others. We need lots of prayer collection these days.