Recycle that old Computer - America Recycles Day

In my post Sticker Shock, I mentioned that I had an old laptop that no longer works and I didn't know what to do with it. Well, in a comment on that post, Janice Brown, at Cow Hampshire, linked to an article about Staples and their computer recycle program.

Since I was going to Staples to purchase my new digital camera, I took the old laptop along. I asked the sales clerk who was helping me if they accepted computers for recycling and he responded in the affirmative. When it came time to check out I made a quick trip to the car and got the laptop. The young man was very nice and courteous but didn't know how to handle the recycling charge. Neither did the other cashier. They called the manager. He said there was a code they had to use. It wasn't at any of the registers so he had to go into the back office to get it. In the meantime, I filled out the paperwork identifying what was being turned in and signing my name stating that I understood that they were promising that the equipment would not be resold or used in any other way, that it was really going to be recycled.

What should have been a less than five minute process ended up taking about 20 minutes. Of course, the sales clerk apologized saying it was the first time anyone had actually recycled anything at their store. I wasn't in a hurry or anything so it was no big deal. But if you plan on recycling any electronic stuff, I'd suggest calling ahead to the store to let them know.

This morning, while on the Staples website checking the status of my camera shipment, I did a search for "recycle computers" but nothing came up. In their page on Media Information they have a News Release titled Fewer Than One in Four Americans Recycle Their Technology Waste that provides additional information on the program and what they will accept.

Did you know that Thursday, November 15th, is America Recycles Day? The Material Recovery Center at Columbia City (in Whitley County, Indiana) has a Saturday in November set aside for turning in hazardous materials, batteries, tires, appliances, etc. that they don't normally accept. Fort Wayne also does this. There is a fee involved with these things, but it is minimal. I'm not sure if they accept electronic equipment such as computers, printers, and scanners though. It might be worth checking your local recycling center, especially if you have multiple items (CPU, Monitor, Printer, etc.) as there is a $10 fee at Staples for each item. There is no charge for cell phones, pagers, digital cameras, mice, or keyboards.

It cost $10 to rid myself of a piece of junk, but I feel good about having done so. It got it out of my closet and hopefully some of the precious metals can be retrieved for other uses. As Janice suggested, I opened the laptop, found the hard drive and gave it more than a few good whacks. After putting the cover back on, the insides rattled a bit, but that shouldn't take away any of it's recycling value ;-)

As a side note, I purchased my new digital camera. A Sony Cyber-shot H7. 8.1 megapixal and 15x zoom. The only one they had in-store was the display model. I'm prejudiced against display models so opted for having it shipped to me. It is supposed to arrive tomorrow (Tuesday 11/13). I just want to be able to check it out for a few days before my trip to Missouri. I'm really looking forward to that 15x zoom. Awesome! Flag image from the America Recycles Day website.

Heavenly Blue

Open, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories are finally starting to bloom vigorously. What an amazing color for a flower...I have never seen anything like it.

And finally

And Finally a Brown Argus or a Common Blue placed its self on a pedestal...

Crater Explorations

Late July brought a climbing team to Mount Rainier that was looking to do something a little bit different. Their mission was to explore the summit crater and it's ice caves, with the Kautz Glacier as their route of access. By the looks of their pictures it looks like they succeeded, big is the only way to look at them.













No significant in-depth exploration or research of the crater caves has been done since Willian Lokey in 1971 and 1972.William Lokey will be presenting about "Project Crater" and his crater explorations at the Paradise Inn Saturday, August 17th starting at 9:00 PM! This event is free however Park Admission is still required.










From Xavier:

"The climb went great. We spent 24th on the summit which was probably the hardest part of the whole climb. You know... altitude."










"The caves are amazing. We didn't get much time in them as everybody was feeling a bit altitude sick + cold and tired but I got some good shots nonetheless. See below. I would love to spend more time up there and document the phenomenon more thoroughly."










"Ice caves in crater, wicked!"



The summit craters and steam vents have provided mystery and refuge to climbers since the early days of climbing Rainier. For more information check out Dee Molenaar's classic The Challenge of Rainier.



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Wool/Poly Blends for Cycling?

While merino wool has become a popular fabric choice for bicycle clothing, it seems that many manufacturers choose to use wool/polyester blends instead of pure merino, believing that the right combination can deliver the best results. Rapha and Road Holland use a fabric called SportWool. Shutt Velo Rapide usesMerinoPerform. Swobo refers to their blend as Merino 753. I am sure there are other proprietary names, but judging by the descriptions of these fabrics the idea is essentially the same: The blend is formulated to have wool fibers on the inside and polyester fibers on the outside, which the manufacturers believe delivers ideal performance properties.






Observing the way these blends have been marketed over the past couple of years, I've noticed an interesting dichotomy. The fiber content shows that merino comprises only 20-40% of it, whereas polyester comprises 60-80%. Yet the names of the blends inevitably feature the words "merino" and "wool," with no mention of the dominant synthetic content. To me this suggests that the manufacturers are eager to promote their use of wool given its current popularity, but in fact do not believe it is possible for wool to be a performance fabric - hence the idea that wool needs to be improved upon (by adding polyester) in order to be used in cycling clothing. All of this has made me highly skeptical about the wool/poly blends. But over the past few months I've had the opportunity to wear several garments made of these fabrics, and gave them an open-minded try. What follows are my impressions.






Having joined a local cycling club last December, I receivedtheir club jersey (right), which happens to be made by Rapha out of the aforementioned SportWool. A couple of months later, I received some items for review from Shutt Velo Rapide, including the Women's Training jersey (left), made of MerinoPerform. Both jerseys are 40% wool, 60% polyester. The texture and weight of the fabrics appear to be identical.






On the outside, the wool blend fabric is smooth and has a slight sheen to it.On the inside it is matte, soft and slightly textured. To the touch, neither the outside nor the inside feels like true merino, but the inside comes closer.




I have worn both jerseys over a (thin, 100% wool) base layer as well as directly next to my skin. I am sensitive to polyester was was curious whether this blend would engage that sensitivity.





In cooler weather, over a base layer, both jerseys feel pretty good. In fact, as mid/outer layers, I have to admit they regulate temperature better for me than the pure wool equivalents I own. I do not experience any sensitivity wearing either of these jerseys over a wool base layer.





However, worn directly next to skin I found the jerseys inferior to the pure wool alternatives. In warm weather the wool/poly blends do not breathe as well for me, and I feel clammy wearing them. I also find them less versatile for temperature regulation when worn on their own. On one ride I found myself too hot in the jersey at 85°F and too cold at the end of the ride at 65°F. I know that my long sleeve 100% wool jerseys are more versatile over the same temperature range.





Rapha, Shutt Velo Rapide and Road Holland each offer lighter weight versions of their wool blend jerseys in an airy eyelet fabric. I've tried the one by Shutt Velo Rapide (above) and it did keep me cool in hot weather. The downside was that as soon as the temperature dropped a bit, I felt chilly. In my experience, pure wool is just more versatile in this respect.





As far as polyester sensitivity, I experienced it with the Rapha jersey when worn directly next to skin, but not with the Shutt Velo Rapide jerseys. I think the reason is simply that the former fits me tighter, so it comes into closer contact with my skin. Either way, after wearing the Rapha jersey in 80°F weather without a base layer underneath, I promptly got a rash under my arms. To be safe, I won't be wearing either of the wool blend jerseys without a base layer again.





Finally, some are probably wondering about the BO factor. Wool is well known for its odor-resistant properties, whereas polyester is known for quite the opposite. I found these jerseys to be somewhere in the middle in that respect, but closer to polyester.





In summary, I have learned that for me the wool/polyester blends function extremely well as outer and mid layers in cool to freezing temperatures. However, they do not function well for me when worn directly next to skin in warmer temperatures - both failing to provide the same temperature regulation as pure wool and activating my polyester sensitivity when coming into close contact with my body.




I am curious about others' experiences with wool/polyester blend fabrics from these and any other manufacturers. How do you find them for cycling compared to 100% wool or 100% synthetics?

Mt. St. Helens, Worm Flows

Foursquare Mountaineering split up and climbed 2 different mountains on the same day. This group went south and climbed the St. Helens winter route. What a view!






Pete M. and Dan on top.



Brian, Matthew, Diane, Andrew, Todd and David on the summit.

It was a great day to climb a mountain!

Wild Sunflower

Sunflowers help brighten up my day.