Observations

But seriously, have your heard of Eneloop? If you live in the United States chances are you’d answer, no.

The battle has always been between Energizer and Duracell as to which battery lasts longer, and the reality is: they both suck ass. I discovered Eneloop yesterday when looking at the Fenix Tk21 Tactical Flashlight for my Go Bag.

I have been using rechargeable batteries for years. When the first rechargeable batteries hit the market, Rayovac made really decent batteries. Then as the competition started coming out with them, the quality seemed to go downhill. If you go to Energizer’s website you can see them bragging that you can recharge their batteries around 150 times. This seems decent until I discovered that the Japanese battery Eneloop can be charged 1500 times before you have to replace them and they hold 85% of their charge after 3 years! You would be lucky to have an American battery last 9 months at any charge.

I have been really disappointed in the quality of the products available in the U.S.. People here just want cheap, poorly made products – I seem to be the exception. I always try to buy the very best I can afford, always repeating the mantra “you get what you pay for”. In the case of Eneloop you pay about the same amount as you would for Energizer or Duracell, but the batteries will last 10 times longer.

This seems to be a trend I am noticing in Japanese products. Japan seems to produce very high quality products, that are made to last a long time. Some of these companies include; Yamaha, Toyota, Honda, Spyderco. So stop wasting your money and killing the environment by using Energizer, Duracell, or Rayovac. You can buy Eneloop on Amazon.com. And buy Japanese products when they are available, you will save a fortune long term.

Brother Ali is one of my favorite hip hop artists.  He is from Minneapolis, MN.  I recently discovered he will be coming to Rochester, MN for a performance at Whiskey Bones Roadhouse on March 19th 2011.  I can’t wait!  I though I would post a video of one of his performances in studio at The Current.

A while back I wrote a post on a harmful chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) that was found in polycarbonate plastics and could be identified by a recycling code of “7″.   At first I thought it was only in “high performance” rugged plastic bottles like Nalgene (which has recently switched away from BPA as well), but felt a little foolish when filling up my stainless steel water bottle from a water cooler here at work.

I discovered that those giant blue jugs used in water coolers were marked with a recycling code of “7″.  I contacted our water supplier ― Culligan and told them I would no longer drink their water unless they switched to BPA free tanks.  It looks like it made a difference!  While I am disappointed that it took a boycott of their product for them to be concerned about the health of their customers, I’m glad to see it finally happening.

While they are not all BPA free yet, they are entering circulation, which makes me happy, and it’s a good decision for the health of their customers and the environment.

To identify “BPA Free” blue water tanks, look for the tank to be made of a slightly more flimsy plastic, and it should contain a handle on the side of the jug.  Furthermore, the top of the tank should state that it is “BPA Free”.  I still prefer glass, stainless steel, ceramic, and silicone, for food and drink storage.

UPDATE: A new study was published by the online journal Environmental Health Perspectives that warns that even BPA-FREE bottles can contain chemicals that mimic estrogen.
Read the full article here ›
Read NPR’s coverage of it here (March 2, 2011) ›

1) Nutrition
2) Hormone Balance
3) Balance/Control Inflammation
4) Renew Gut Function
5) Detoxify
6) Energy
7) Balance of Mind & Body