Friday, July 18, 2008

Vicarious Meandering




It's too darn hot for me to go out there today so I let Neeley do it for me. She had an exam this morning and went for a wander afterwards to relax. For reasons I have yet to grasp, she ended up at the Eastern Mountain Sports store. Maybe she's window shopping now in case she decides to go off with the Doctor's Without Borders program at some point in the future.

The first item of interest she encountered was biodegradalbe flip flops. Hm, now there's a concept for you. Did you know there's a slew of such things out there that are both environmentally friendly and acceptable to vegans? Never really thought about it but true vegans wouldn't wear leather shoes. I popped on-line to look at what she was talking about only I got distracted by the vegan hiking boots. Aren't they cute? I might need a pair once it cools off.

The whole thought of biodegradable footwear is somewhat fascinating so I took a detour to see what I could find. Brooks Sports makes running shoes they can BioMoGos. They claim these shoes will return to nature in a mere 20 years as opposed to the typical 1000 of standard running shoes. Admirable, isn't it? But just in case you're now worried about your shoes starting to rot off your feet, don't be. For biodegradation to occur you need what is called a triple convergence, the absence of oxygen, the presence of many microbes, and the existence of moisture. These three factors are only present in active landfills so your shoes would be safe in the closet.

The next thing we discussed were Polar watches that in addition to telling time, monitor your heartrate. Yep, I clicked to that page and found the cutest pink one. No, I don't have any real need for one but still, it would be a nifty thing to have. I'd be checking my heartrate throughout the day, just because I could.

The last noteworthy tidbit she mentioned was the variety of freeze-dried food. Grilled chicken breasts and mashed potatoes with herbs and chives or some Katmandu curry anyone? We can have hot apple cobbler or dark chocolate cheesecake for desert.

Tour de France Update -
Winner Stage 13, July 18 - Cavendish, Great Britain
Overall Leader - Cadel Evans, Australia

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Bit of trivia for you - and don't ask me which country cause I can't remember - but I watched this doco on an island nation that collects all the 1000s of flip flops that float across the sea and land on their shores. They make toys and stuff out of them to sell and support the ecomony

barbara huffert said...

Why do you do this to me? It's on purpose, isn't it? You know I'm going to have to find out about this now.

Regina Carlysle said...

I love that cute little watch. I'm afraid I'd be like you and I wouldn't get anything done for checking my heart rate.

Phoenix said...

20 years? And how long does it take until they are degraded enough to hurt your posture, cause back problems, and generally be unwearable? Does it speed up if you get them wet repeatedly or leave them on your front porch (for those of us who remove before we enter), and if you hike in them and they get muddy, will they degrade faster if the mud isn't immediately wiped off upon returning home?

Unknown said...

Now I'm curious about the flip-flop thing too since I live in them! I wonder if they would do that in the Galapagos... apparently it's getting all kinds of polluted now which is not good for the wildlife there. =( This morning I wandered out grocery shopping, and it occurred to me that the majority of what I bought was vegetarian/vegan/additive free. Hmm... Skinny Bitch definitely has me on the lookout. I hope it's all yummy, today was butternut squash soup for lunch from Trader Joe's and that was fantastic. I'll keep you posted on my adventures in vegetarian land!