Realm of the Imponderable

Happy Birthday to me...

hrmmm what shall I get? Maybe that Dube glow in the dark devilstick that I've been eyeing for the last few months

The advent of plasticitis

Just started working in a new lab for one of my classes where we did tests on an injection molding machine, It's a pretty huge contraption, capable of heating plastic to within a fraction of a degree of the correct temperature and squeezing it out at ridiculously high pressures. (you ever try squeezing plasticine through a wet rag? I'll bet this critter could do it)
Just think, all that action and machinery to produce... a plastic gear. And it takes a good 1-2 minutes to produce one. Makes me wonder what kind of magic or wizardry they pull when they mass produce plastic parts by the zillions these days.
So at the rate at which we consume plastics, I wonder if anyone gave serious thought as to how long we can continue doing this and whether there's any viable alternatives to "cheap, disposable" plastic containers. I wonder....