More on ...why so much stuff? From a journal entry Feb. 27, '08

I don’t know what a “carbon foot print” is but I know what I did yesterday and this is the …Stuff that got “thrown away”:

doughnut “Buttermilk Bar”, handed to me by the steward as I boarded the plane..

extra packet of sugar that came w/ my coffee

Styrofoam cup/plastic creamer container/paper napkin/ plastic swizzle stick.

paper cup w/ plastic lid/a paper plate

~12 sheets of toilet paper / 2 paper towels

2 pieces of paper used for ‘boarding passes’ 4”x 8” each

4 pieces of paper used for ‘cab vouchers’ 3”x6” each

3 sheets of paper 8 ½” x 11” used keep track of expenses for ‘cash reimbursement

a piece of plastic wrap from a cookie 6”x 12”

a plastic water bottle and plastic cap

2 more napkins

a piece of aluminum foil that wrapped my PB&J sandwich ~12” x 12”

another Styrofoam cup/ creamer and plastic swizzle stick

and this is the…Stuff that got “used up”:

~1 cup of cereal w/ raisins and ~13 blue berries

3 cups of coffee (including cream/milk and sugar)

an egg sandwich (an egg, slice of cheese, a roll and a couple of squirts of catsup, salt and pepper)

a pear, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and an oatmeal raisin cookie

a quart of drinking water

~a gallon of washing water (hands and face)

~15 gallons of water flushed down the toilet and urinals

6 ozs. of green salad w/ a tablespoon of bottled dressing

6 ozs. of pasta w/ eggplant and tomato sauce

6 tsps of ice cream straight out of the carton standing at the refrigerator

a second oatmeal raisin cookie.

gasoline for the ride to the train station and back again in the evening ~ 1/5 gallon

diesel for the train into the city and back home again in the evening

~ 40 passenger miles / gallon x 100 miles= 2.5 gallons

gasoline for the ride to the NYC airport and back again in the evening ~ 2 gallons

gasoline for the ride from the Boston airport to my meeting and back again ~ 1 ½ gallons

jet fuel for the ride up to Boston and back to NYC in the evening

~(15 gal/ minute x 30 minutes) / 50 people x 2 trips= 18 gallons

#2 fuel oil (diesel) to heat the house and produce hot water ~ 3 gallons

propane for cooking ???

electricity for light and fans, tv’s, computers, etc???

4 prescription pills

Feels like I got pretty big carbon-feet!

Why So Much Junk?

Why So Much Junk?

My doctor gave me a bunch of samples of some meds that I have to take regularly. Expensive medicine compared to over-the-counter stuff like aspirin or athletes foot spray (does any one use aspirin any more?). My co-pay for these little purple pills is $45 for 90 days). Still, I was overwhelmed by the amount of packaging that these little purple pills demanded. They came in blister packs of six pills. Each of the blister packs came in a glossy cardboard box and in each box was a full set of warnings and instructions for use. The instructions were printed in typeset that was much smaller than this and impossible to read without glasses and a medical degree so I am confused as to why they bother including it with the product as I am sure everyone is just like me and that is the first thing I throw away…The blister pack packaging is a nuisance and the last thing I need to start off my day is to have to peel and pop one of these devilish packages so I can take my meds. I just removed all the pills from the packs and put them in a bottle. The pile of packaging that resulted from de-packing these samples (about 60 pills in all) made a pile on my kitchen counter eight inches high and filled one of the plastic shopping bags from Wal-Mart. The pills fit neatly into a plastic bottle just larger than a shot glass.

So my question is Why So Much Junk for sixty pills? I have an inquiring mind...a simple Google search led me to—

Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum

Which turns out to be a trade organization who will be hosting a convention (is that the right word for it?). I should have known that nothing is as easy or simple as it might seem. Here is what these folks are going to talk about:

- package design, material innovations and sustainability
- OEE (overall equipment effectiveness)
- Six Sigma and operational excellence
- packaging and clinical trial success
- increasing compliance with improved package designs
- new developments in anti-counterfeiting strategies

I am impressed. But really, I just want to know why so much junk in my trash can for less than a hand full of pills??

Tissue

Tissue

Why do we take these risks?

The climb?

Each time?

Up the side of a steep discussion,

the ascent

on a ladder of steam,

leaves us in the air

looking away from each other

looking over the protective walls

looking for hand-holds

outside the home

out in hostile territory.

Why do we need the speed?

Why do we thrive

on the pain?

Why do we drive our words

like sharp spikes

into the sides

of our arguements?

Into the winged feet of our freedom?

into the soft fronds

of our love?

The face of a clock,

the motion of the sun,

tissue paper...

the simplest things

are filled with terror.

iStick

iStick
Originally uploaded by The Bottomless Paddling Pool

twenty-first century
answer to
a Christmas stocking
full of coal.
a depression
gift
for the technodude
and dude-ette.

The Skipping Stair

I can hear you coming.
I know who is there.
The treads invite
your signature footfalls
up on the skipping stair.

I built the stair
of bits
and pieces
just wood and glue
and carpet
and nails
paint and putty
and a twisting plan--
like Frankenstein
it took on a Life
of its own
It bore the weight
of two young lovers
and three young boys
who into their own lives
have grown.
But they are still pups
when they are on the stair
Bump-t-bump
t-bump
t-bump,
every time they come
back home.

I can hear you coming.
I know who is there.
The treads invite
your signature footfalls
up on the skipping stair.