eco this!

I was lying bed last night finishing up some reading before going to sleep and I reached over and grabbed my bottle of water to take a swig. It was then when I noticed the words “Eco-Shape” on the side of it. Arrowhead claimed my water bottle to use 30% less plastic than other bottles of that volume. I found that to be a little striking. I do not know if you have ever seen the eco-shape bottle before but it is filled with ridges and waves and dimples in the molding. So how do they say that this is an “eco-shape”? Most people know that the shortest distance (in this case least material) is accomplished in a straight line. So what’s with all the contours and the dimples in the bottle?

That is what started this blog but then upon further investigation I found an even more interesting fact. The “eco-shape” bottle is taller and skinnier than its predecessor. That brought to mind an old algebra problem I had once about a farmer and his fence, you may remember it. A farmer wants to corral his animals in a given area with 4 sides but wants to do it with the least amount of money, so with what dimensions will the fence be cheapest? The fence will be cheapest with four equal length sides. A square. It turns out that you will always use the least amount of material with a square as opposed to any rectangular configuration. The same holds true with 3-Dimensional objects. You can contain the same volume in a short stubby container with less surface area than you would in a tall skinny container. So this Arrowhead “eco-shape” container isn’t really doing anything for me. I will give it its thinner plastic but everything else about the bottle doesn’t really cry out eco friendly.

falling

It is quite an exciting feeling when you are cruising along at about 15 hundred feet all find and dandy, when all of the sudden, you are falling. What a thrill! At 1700 ft/min it is quite a rush. Now I have never jumped out of an airplane for such a rush but I think this is more fun, but it won't stop me from doing it if the opportunity presents itself. Today in flight class we did auto rotations, the ability of the helicopter to "fly" (really more like fall safely) in the event of a power failure. The blades continue to spin and you still have control and most importantly- the ability to land gracefully. It is such a cool experience. The reasoning behind my thinking that auto rotations are better than parachuting is because you don't have any sudden yank, smashing your acceleration as if against some invisible concrete wall- you can gently roll on the throttle giving you a gentle return to reality. Another up side is you don't have to jump out; that is silliness (once again this would not necessarily hinder me from doing it)! So those are my thoughts on falling, one of the most happy feelings in the world if done with the right equipment and as long as when you touch the ground it is done softly.

brace for impact

I thought about it today and it seems that that is not necessarily a good idea. As I understand it the more limber and loose you are the greater your chance of making it though uninjured. We read about auto accidents where the victim is injured or even killed and the selfish drunk that was too wasted to clearly determine that he was drunk and shouldn't drive walks away without injury. How is that for unfair? The drunk is loose and mellow, the victim screaming in terror, pressing himself firmly against the back of his seat with his hands against the steering wheel and foot floored against the break.

On a less sobering note I recall an article I read once about cats. Among other things it was mentioned that a cat will relax itself as it falls from a high plain. Said the article, "Relaxing also causes the impact force to be spread out over more area when the cat lands, resulting in a decrease in injuries to cats' limbs when they fall seven or more stories." That sounds pretty amazing. So why do we "brace for impact"? Another thing too- is there really any point to closing your eyes? it doesn't help anything, and you miss all the action.