posted by bahama mama Authentic Reggie Wayne Jersey at 2:09 PM on August 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is for me, Mngo. Perhaps you didn't get the memo, but whenever anyone on MeFi refers to "someone special", they're referring to me.

posted by HotPatatta at 2:12 PM on August 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

A cool ceramic bowl (doesn't have to be fancy: something from Ross/Marshalls/a thrift store is fine, and no worries if it breaks) for spare change by the place you put your wallet when you walk in the door. $50 every few months is a great little surprise, and a lifesaver if you leave your wallet at work one day.

posted by mdonley at 2:13 PM on August 4, 2008

an immersion hand blender. But then again, Robert Mathis Colts Jersey I really like soup.

posted by gaspode at 2:13 Robert Mathis Jersey PM on August 4, 2008

On second thought, they're probably referring to ThePinkSuperhero.

posted by HotPatatta at 2:14 PM on August 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My really comfortable bed. I bought a new high end queen size bed last september and holy heck, what a change! Getting proper sleep is life changing.

Also, my. Ridiculous how often I end up using Authentic Robert Mathis Jersey it. I love it.

posted by gwenlister at 2:16 PM on August 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

A really good garlic press. I absolutely refuse to cook at someone's house if they don't have one.

Prescription Reggie Wayne Jersey sunglasses were also an excellent investment, if you have bad eyesight. Probably not as big of a deal if you don't drive in the sun a lot, but they're priceless to me.

When I moved, I bought myself a memory foam mattress and nice new sheets. If you don't already have a really cozy, welcoming bed setup, I think that's a nice gift to yourself.

Not to mention the mixed messages we get every day: Sexeducation is now a integral part of our school lives, teaching us the risks and Michael Griffin Titans Jersey how to be safe. In contrast, we have our parents, religious leaders and other adults warning us that having sex now is a mistake and something we're bound to regret forever. And of course there's sex all over TV. Teen sex is portrayed as something completely normal because, well, I guess now it is. Sometimes I don't know what to believe.

I'm 18 years old and a virgin. Not to mention I've never even had my first kiss. And being a guy, of course, most people my age think that's completely "mental." I guess I think that too, sometimes. I often argue with myself saying: Craig Stevens Jersey "Seriously man, how can you be so inexperienced? Your friends are growing up without you. There are probably kids half your age more experienced."

On the other hand, it's not as if the opportunity has never presented itself. I just didn't want to share such a personal moment with someone I didn't really care about or who didn't really care about me a kiss or sex. But my friends don't get that. It's tough enough to even maintain those relationships when all I want to do with my friends is see a movie or go out for dinner, when they Michael Griffin Jersey want to hit the clubs and hook up with as many random strangers as possible.

I think the idea of waiting until marriage is a wonderful thing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm waiting. But is Craig Stevens Titans Jersey that a realistic or even fair expectation in today's world for both myself and my prospective partner? I don't know. In a time where relationships equal sex for most people it's a little difficult to have the courage to enter any new relationships. I'm afraid that after I open my heart to somebody, my choice to abstain will chase them away and leave me damaged. (Not to be all melodramatic and everything, but I might be a guy, but I have those "alone forever" fears, too).

I don't know what the future holds. I don't know when or how I'll lose my virginity, or have my first kiss, for that matter. All I know is I am definitely waiting until I have somebody I truly love and can imagine spending the rest of my life with before even considering sex. I'm 18, what do I know about true love right now? The way Authentic Michael Griffin Jersey I see it, I'm young and have my whole life ahead of me. I trust myself, I really do, and I know that as my life happens I'll make the right choices for me. And those might not be the right choices for somebody else, and that's okay. We all have our own beliefs.

Some advice: What matters is that you do what you believe is right for you. Don't let your friends pressure you into anything. I haven't, and I'm happy about that. It can be really tough, I know. But if you're in my position, wondering if there are people out there who Authentic Craig Stevens Jersey could possibly be in the same boat as you, just know that there are. We're out there.

Radiation isn't a big deal Authentic Adam Vinatieri Jersey at low levels. You get a lot of radioactivity from natural sources from the sun (especially while flying), minerals in the soil, lots of foods that take up those minerals, etc. For example, wikipedia tells me that a single banana contains 15 Bq of radiation, which works out to 4x 10^10 Ci, or 400 pCi if I can math right today. Way more than the 18 pCi found in a whole litre of your water.

The National Inorganics and Radionuclide Survey(NIRS), performed by the EPA, found large numbers of water treatment plants in the midwestern and southeastern states processing water with radium concentrations in excess of EPA's Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).

Scheme water and water elsewhere may not be as safe as the water you currently have.

What's the worry in scale? The Potassium40 in soil is usually good for about 11 pCi/g. Obviously you don't go inhaling multiple pounds of soil but the radiation is next to nothing in the grand scheme of things.

posted by Talez at 1:15 PM on October 8

xkcd's radiation dose chart may be reassuring?

posted by kmennie at 1:19 PM on October 8 [3 favorites]

Not all MCLs are superprotective, because factors like cost of treatment are considered. IANYRA (I am not your risk assessor), but very quickly eyeballing the risk with a drinking water radiation expert, we wouldn't move if we were you.

The quick and dirty evaluation showed that the only exposure that was at all unacceptable was ingestion ie, her model suggested that showering and bathing (with conservative models) with those levels was a low risk. That said, she wanted to look more closely at the numbers tomorrow to be sure she wasn't overstating things, and I'll get back to you if that changes.

To better understand how cancer risk is evaluated and presented, you might google the concept Authentic Coby Fleener Jersey of excess lifetime cancer risk. EPA and other protection agencies evaluate risk by how many more cancers would be expected in a population with that exposure. Usually an ELCR of 1 in a 100,000 (sometimes one in a million) risk is considered "safe".

Her quick evaluation showed that drinking that water for a lifetime would pose a higher risk than that (somewhere in the 1 in 10,000 range, if I recall correctly), and so I, personally, would avoid drinking the water for now, even knowing I wouldn't be drinking 2 liters a day for 70 years like the models use. But I would shower, bathe, and wash with that water.

Your TCEQ may also have someone who can walk through this data with you, if you call saying you have a question about radiation in your water.

posted by ldthomps at 1:25 PM on October 8 [2 favorites]

If memory serves, Alpha particles are practically harmless if you don't ingest them. They can't get through even the dead layers of skin. The only problem is ingesting them, since mucus membranes don't have a protective layer.

So don't drink or cook with it, and Adam Vinatieri Jersey it should be fine.

posted by gjc at 1:45 PM on October 8 Coby Fleener Colts Jersey

The radon in your water supply poses an inhalation risk and a small ingestion risk. Most of your risk from radon in water comes from radon released into the air when water is used for showering and other household purposes. Research has shown that your risk of lung cancer from breathing radon in air is much larger than your risk of stomach cancer from swallowing water with radon in it.

So it's not terribly unsafe Adam Vinatieri Colts Jersey to drink, but taking showers in it may be bad (as your Googling suggested). How about that for counterintuitive?

Personally I'd just shrug and live with it.

posted by pipeski at 2:21 PM on October 8

Do you know what the source mineral is? You can buy shower filters that you simply screw between the showerhead and the wall ($40ish for a cheap one). Depending on the mineral and on the filter, you may be able to install Coby Fleener Jersey something yourself as a basic stopgap/reduction measure in the meantime while they sort out proper filtration at the supply.