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Just in case you're not up on this, I believe he's talking about a Camelbak. It's basically a backpack with a bladder for holding water and a hose that you can drink from. They're handy for bicyclists and runners who want to keep moving and not fiddle with bottles.

A lot of people pay for the convenience and adaptability when they buy bottled water.

Like I said I buy filtered water, I have a 5 gallon bottle I fill up. I also have and use a Camelbak I take with me everywhere, and it's very adaptable. Even if you refill an empty bottle you're still saving money and it's no less convenient.

I personally use a whole house filter

Yea, I'd rather have a whole house filter myself. For now though I rent an apartment.

Falcon

he was a disgruntled employee with inside access, and didn't have to go through normal security

Thing is is hijackings rarely happen in the US so previous security measures worked fine. We don't need the security theatre we have own. Checking containers of liquid? Please. I always carry one of my CamelBaks with me, whether I'm working in my garden, riding my bike or rollerblading, driving, or flying.

Falcon

How do you survive in all those places that don't normally like you to have food and drink? Cabs? Theaters? And so on and so forth?

When I go out I always take my Camelbak with me. I only rarely have someone ask me what it is, none have been employees yet though, and when I explain what it is they usually ask where they can get one.

However: Homeland Security is completely ridiculous. I can't bring water on an airplane thanks to the insane regulations. I NEED to be drinking water constantly. It's not an option.

Dehydrate easily do you? Same here so I always make sure I have a drink with me, when I go out I carry my Camelbak. I have twice collapsed and passed out because I dehydrated and both tymes I ran out of water while we were out in the field when I was in the army. From those experiences I learned to make sure I could quickly get a drink so the Camelbak.

I, for one, am a minimalist. I hate taking a bunch of crap with me when I'm not certain to use it. That being said, I'm a grunt, too, so I have to carry a craptastic amount of items that I _might_ want/need. I honestly like the feel of cargo pants made from a khaki material. You can pick them up cheap at a lot of stores. Heck, my last pair I got at JC Penney's on clearance in the fatty kid's section.

If you want to have a "cool" solution, buy an assault pack. If you have a friend in the military, he/she can take you on post to get a really nice high-speed pack for about $140. If you get one from CamelBak (example), it will also have an embedded hydration pack (2 or 3 liters) so that you can stay hydrated. Yes, it's cool to drink water.

i figure it's a $35+ nite to see a movie in a theatre.

I keep seeing how people on /. say it's so expensive to see a movie in the cinema, theatre, but I've never paid even $10 for one ticket and I don't bnuy drinks, candy, or popcorn at the theatre either. When I go to a theatre I have my Camelbakhydration system (water bottle) and I eat before or after the movie. Now when I used to go to a cinema pub, cafe, my favorite being the Enzian I'd get something to eat and drink but the drinks and food are much better there and you get to sit at a table.

If you eat before you see the movie, and just smuggle in a bad of skittles, you just saved yourself $18. The food has always been outrageous. Luckily, you aren't forced to buy it. It's the ticket prices that are getting ridiculous. It's $10.25 i believe to see a movie at a good stadium seating theater in my city.

I don't buy drinks or snacks when I see a movie, well rarely I will get a snack at a regular theatre but I always have my Camelbak with me so there's no need to buy a drink. However movie theatres typically break even on ticket sales, it's the concessionary sales where they make money. Personally I prefer cinema pubs where you can sit down at a table and order food and drinks. Though it's been several years since I've been there, as I moved, my fav is The Enzian.

Talk to me when you do this in Phoenix Arizona in the middle of summer.

When the nightly LOWS don't go below 90.
When the daily HIGHS don't go below 110 or 115.

Then bike or walk even the mile or two to the grocery store, and see how you feel. I'll visit you in the hospital where you'll be taken when you keel over from heatstroke. Oh wait, you'll be placing a burden on health care. Whoops.

As someone who has spent a lot of time living in the desert and doing various field work there, I feel fairly confident in saying 115 degrees isn't that bad. ;) Granted, that it only if you have plenty of water (thank goodness for CamelBacks) and a nice wide brimmed hat.

That said, the real problem isn't so much the temperatures involved. It's the distances. Phoenix, as well as many other urban areas throughout the Southwest (ie, Los Angeles) are just massive sprawling areas of concrete. The public transportation systems are not that suitable in getting you to where you want to go. And even if they DO go somewhere you want, it isn't in a very timely matter.

So "driving less" in these areas is not a practical solution to these problems. It'd be easier to just buy a more fuel efficient vehicle.

I personally see myself running around with a 2 liter camelbak filled with whatever the fuel-cell requires ;) Then I'd try to directly hook it up to the laptops cell. That makes refills necessary once a week or so, and carrying the "battery" with me is quite comfortable too. I guess refillstations will never be visited by geeks. Everybody will create the fuel at home as this stuff is cheap and can be bought everywhere, unless they switch over to use hydrogen.

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor)

The whole 64 oz per day thing is a bit off, but here's why: water intake should actually be proportionate to body weight, but a surplus isn't necessarily a bad thing. Increase per caffeine intake (diuretic effect counteraction) and per physical activity increase (like Camelbak says, "hydrate or die").

For instance, if a 150 lb random were to drink 64 oz of water over the course of 1 day and spend the day sitting in front of his computer, they would be well hydrated and urinating fairly frequently as a side effect. (They would be lethargic due to caffeine withdrawal, but they would be very well hydrated.) If the same 150 lb random ran a marathon and only consumed said .5 gallons of water over the course of the run, they'd be cramping from heat exhaustion by mile 24. (Seen it.)

Now take a 300 lb random. If they spent the day in front of the computer and gave them 1/2 gallon of water to drink over the day, they'd be particularly thirsty to the point where they would feel dry. Increase the water intake and they'll feel better. And if your random is running a marathon, that 300 lbs better be muscle lest he wear himself out despite proper hydration.

(end disclaimer section)

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