It means nothing to me...

Food, recipes, fashion, sport, education, exercise, sexuality, travel.
rubato
Posts: 14213
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 10:14 pm

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by rubato »

https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/commun ... r-giveaway
"... In 2008, Orange County Water District in southern California began a bold effort to transform sewage into drinking water.

In partnership with the Orange County Sanitation District, it uses micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light to purify locally generated treated wastewater. The finished water then gets pumped into local groundwater aquifers, where it becomes part of the municipal drinking supply.

Today, after an investment of some $600 million, the district’s Groundwater Replenishment System is the world’s largest producer of purified wastewater. And it has just launched a new program to spread the gospel.

Through special legislation, the district obtained state approval to bottle its recycled drinking water. It claims this is the first time recycled wastewater has been available in bottled form in North America. It plans a series of tour dates around California to give this bottled product free to the public.

Why did a local water agency go to such lengths? More importantly, what does the wider public think of its special water? To find out, Water Deeply recently spoke with Denis Bilodeau, who has served on the Orange County Water District board of directors for 17 years and is its current president. ... "
My concern about recycling sewer water is that there are a lot of active drugs and metabolites in sewer water so you would need a reliable method for removing them (benzodiazepines, HRT, caffeine, antibiotics, &c).. Reverse osmosis, which they are using, should work but I would like to see some data.

yrs,
rubato

User avatar
Long Run
Posts: 6717
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:47 pm

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by Long Run »

rubato wrote: Through special legislation, the district obtained state approval to bottle its recycled drinking water. It claims this is the first time recycled wastewater has been available in bottled form in North America. It plans a series of tour dates around California to give this bottled product free to the public.
I wouldn't expect long lines for this freebie :?

User avatar
Long Run
Posts: 6717
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:47 pm

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by Long Run »

It is interesting to me the number of people who talk about moving somewhere for retirement. Are there that many people with little connection to where they have lived most of their lives, whether that be friends and families, or activities and interests, that they are willing to just drop everything and move thousands of miles away. Yes, it is easier to stay in touch with your past life now than ever with communication being cheap and easy, and flying as affordable as ever, but I don't get it.*

*I get financial reasons dictating a move; Gob moving home which is the reverse of what most people do; mission-driven moves like Meade's; or parents following kids.

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by BoSoxGal »

In my case, I’m expecting to need to be someplace more affordable than the US in order to live an enjoyable retirement. Also unless circumstances change significantly in the next 20 years in this country, I’d like to live my golden years somewhere much less divided and hostile politically and where medical care is reasonably good and available to all at low or no cost - as in Ecuador. It’s my understanding that expats are docked 20% in SS benefits, but assuming a comparable difference in cost of living between there and here still exists in 20 years, I’ll be able to live comfortably and afford travel home to visit and elsewhere in the world much easier than if I lived in the US.

Finally, while other amenities are obviously a consideration in deciding where to live, I’m keenly concerned about weather because it’s changing fairly rapidly for the worse and the trends don’t look to be changing in the next 20-30 years, except to get even bleaker. Summers here in Massachusetts are nothing like I remember as a kid, they’ve been much more intensely hot for sustained periods of time and the correspondingly milder winters have made it difficult to enjoy the outdoors in my favorite season of spring, thanks to a tick Armageddon. And while winter is overall milder, the extremes of weather caused by the climate change have resulted in some monster nor’easters and those are getting harder to deal with the older and more arthritic I get.

Ecuador’s weather is essentially perpetually springlike, with average temps ranging between 40-80 which is my sweet zone. It has a lot of culture to offer - I’ve been reading expat blogs for a few years now as it’s been my retirement plan for a while.

My plans could change if circumstances in my life change, but I expect to either continue to be happily solo or if I find myself in a relationship, I expect it would be with someone who shared my thirst for adventure and travel.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

User avatar
RayThom
Posts: 8604
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:38 pm
Location: Longwood Gardens PA 19348

It means nothing to me...

Post by RayThom »

How is your Spanish language skill? It appears that some right-wing bigots also love Ecuador.

Image
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by BoSoxGal »

I don’t speak Spanish much at all; I wanted to take it in school - it was the only language offered in my junior high, other languages were only taught in high school - but I was basically forbidden by my father who didn’t want to hear any ‘wetback talk’ in his home. I ended up studying both French and German in high school, then German in college because it was much easier than starting a new language when I was also doing a dual degree with a minor and working almost full time - but I’ve bitterly regretted it because Spanish bilinguality would have been so useful in my legal aid job search right after law school.

Luckily I’m very adept with language acquisition and I know that the very best way to learn is to be immersed with the opportunity to practice every day. I plan to go to Quito to teach for a year or two while I’m still working, which will be an excellent opportunity to ease my way in. In retirement I hope to supplement my income and stay social by tutoring in ESL for Ecuadorians who seek to learn English - but I find it rather appealing that Ecuador is a country where you really need to speak their language to go beyond the most basic interaction, as language acquisition is excellent neural network exercise which is all the more important as one ages.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

User avatar
Guinevere
Posts: 8989
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:01 pm

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by Guinevere »

Long Run wrote:It is interesting to me the number of people who talk about moving somewhere for retirement. Are there that many people with little connection to where they have lived most of their lives, whether that be friends and families, or activities and interests, that they are willing to just drop everything and move thousands of miles away. Yes, it is easier to stay in touch with your past life now than ever with communication being cheap and easy, and flying as affordable as ever, but I don't get it.*

*I get financial reasons dictating a move; Gob moving home which is the reverse of what most people do; mission-driven moves like Meade's; or parents following kids.

I’m extremely connected to my community and very close to my family. For me, the motivation is a new adventure, stretching my skills and experiences, that is much more difficult to do while I’m focussed on career, clients, and professional expertise. I can’t do my work from anywhere, I need to be in Eastern Massachusetts, and with specific clients or in court, a lot.

I’m also not interested in not having a home base and traveling all the time, or living somewhere for the short term. I want to be able to explore the world more, but I do like having a place to come home to.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké

Big RR
Posts: 14050
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:47 pm

Re: It means nothing to me...

Post by Big RR »

LR--I have seen a lot of friends and family scattering over the years--mostly for jobs, sometimes for lifestyle or cost of living. And that makes the idea of retiring elsewhere attractive.

sure, I have been part of my community for a long time, but the torch for a lot of the jobs/services I did have passed to the next generation (as they did to me). And if my kids are scattered in different states (as it looks like they may be), I am unsure why I would want to continue to pay among the highest taxes in the nation to live where I live; it's not exactly the Garden of Eden. So, I am considering my options; settling in a nice college town where I can walk to shopping and restaurants and have access to a lot of cultural events is attractive, and lowering my day to day cost of living will give me more to do some of the other things I want to do.

Post Reply