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Drinking water scams

 About Me

Visitors have been suggesting for several years that I provide some information about the "person behind the site",
so here goes:  

Over the years that my drinking water information site has been active, I have been asked to provide some personal details by visitors wishing to know how to cite the information in research papers (or simply wanting to know what my credentials are for putting together a drinking water information site):

I have lived most of my life in Littleton, Colorado, a southern suburb of Denver.  I graduated from Littleton High School, and earned a BA degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO.  I completed a Masters of Science in molecular genetics from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ.  I have taught biology and physical science at the high school and college levels.  I am currently employed at the Denver VA Medical Center and provide data analysis, database management, programming, computer support, and quality management reporting for the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.  

I have always been interested in science and in understanding how things work, whether it is a radio or the universe.  I was very annoyed a number of years ago when trying to locate useful information on the internet about drinking water and water treatment options.  Most of the information I found was quite exaggerated, very biased, or just plain wrong.  The number of sites containing accurate information about drinking water is far greater today than when I started my site (probably in 97), but there is still a tremendous amount of exaggerated, biased, and just plain wrong information on the web.  

With a solid background in science, research training (both experimental and library), and a strong interest in education and statistics, I decided to distill everything I knew or could find out about drinking water and build my own reference site.  I try to find several reliable sources for everything I publish and then make certain it is consistent with the knowledge I already have.  As I discover new information I try to post it.

In early 2010 I was invited to participate in an interview, Drinking Water: Facts, Scams, and Treatment Methods, for the health website, www.chetday.com.  In the interview I provide additional details about how I became involved in issues related to drinking water treatment.

I hope you find the information collected on my web sites useful.

Randy Johnson, MS - Biology

Some additional personal information and interests below:

 I created a page that showcases some Sound of the Rockies videos
Goodbye World, Goodbye - members of 3 Sound of the Rockies quartets

That's me in the picture to the left engaged in one of my favorite activities these days - on the risers singing with the 100 voice, men's a cappella chorus I am privileged to be a member of, Sound of the Rockies (SoR) out of Denver, Colorado.  SoR is a competitive member of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and the picture above was taken on the International Stage in Montreal, Quebec, July 5, 2003 where the chorus placed 7th in a field of 20 other district champion choruses from the United States, Canada, and England.  I had never heard of a barbershop chorus before November 2001, but on a whim, my wife and I attended a SoR concert, and I was so amazed by the sound and energy coming from the stage, that I determined to become a part of the group.  You can read this story at YourHub.com.

The summer of 2007, the chorus placed third at International Competition in our hometown, Denver, CO.
  You can view a larger picture here or listen to the 2007 Sound of the Rockies contest performance here.

July 2008 in Nashville, in Anaheim July 2009 and in Pittsburgh July 2010, Sound of the Rockies placed 4th in the International Barbershop competition.  In July of 2011 the chorus places third in Kansas City.

There are over 800 chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society in the United States and Canada.  In many cities and towns these chapters, which often consist of an a cappella chorus and several quartets, provide top-quality, family entertainment opportunities in their communities and an opportunity for men who love to sing to create some wonderful harmony.   I would strongly encourage anyone who loves music to check the BHS listings to see if there is a nearby chorus and/or quartet.  Contact them to find out when/where they will be performing or rehearsing, and plan to attend a concert or attend a rehearsal.  There are other men's and two women's (Sweet Adelines, and Harmony, Inc.) barbershop organizations around the world that you might find rewarding to explore.

Listen to Sound of the Rockies (1.4MB MP3 file)


On a different note:   Besides singing and work - and updating websites, I keep busy with a variety of activities and interests which include:

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Astronomy and cosmology - I am fascinated by the universe we inhabit, and periodically, on dark nights (which are sadly becoming rarer as light pollution increases), I drag my telescope out to look at the planets and an assortment of deep space objects.  I can only marvel at the images that the Hubble Space Telescope has brought to the world.  
One of the most amazing events I have witnessed was watching the 2001 Leonid meteor storm for several hours after midnight with my family as "shooting stars" rained down out of a dark, clear sky at an incredible rate! Took a lot of neat pictures - and later discovered I had forgotten to load my camera.

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Geology and amateur rock and mineral collecting - Living in Colorado provides some fun locations for mineral and fossil collecting with my wife and son.  We spent one afternoon, for example, collecting calcite crystals and chipping plain opal out of a hill near Grand Junction.

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Gardening - Although the recent Colorado drought has put a crimp in this activity, I enjoy growing, harvesting, cooking and eating the produce of my garden.  I enjoy planting varieties of giant pumpkins, that if properly cared for, can produce several hundred pound pumpkins.  Mine have yet to top 100 pounds, but I keep trying.

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Novice Vintner
(a great use for water that's heavily contaminated with grape compounds)
- An attempt ten years ago to brew wine from concord grapes picked in a neighbor's yard effectively killed any desire to repeat the experience - - - until recently.  My wife and I enjoy a good bottle of wine and we just (4/07) decided to try several of the varietal wine kits on the market - started with a Cabernet Sauvignon (which will take several years to mature) and will soon start brewing a Chardonnay (because we don't wish to wait several years to begin drinking the fruits of our labor).
August 2009 update: the two batches of wine mentioned above sadly are gone (they turned out great).  We started a 6-gallon batch from California Cabernet Sauvignon grapes last fall, bottling in May 2009 - it seems to be quite good, but we will not start drinking it until next spring.  Meanwhile we are trying to figure out which type of wine(s) to make with this fall's harvest.

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Web and graphics design - I put this drinking water information site together and I developed a series of web pages to promote my Dad's book, A Thread of Gold, a historical- fiction adventure novel about the search for a lost gold bonanza in the the Colorado Rockies, published in 2005.  

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Cooking - My wife and I enjoy, when time allows, digging into the spice rack and creating culinary masterpieces.  We processed 50 pounds of chokecherries we collected along the nearby Highline Canal (Aug 03) for making jelly, and perhaps some wine.

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Photography - I enjoy trying to get just the right balance of light and composition in a photograph.

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Folk singing and guitar playing - I have been singing and playing the guitar since high school.  My guitar has been a good companion over the years at home, off at school, and on camping trips.

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Reading and collecting antique books & magazines - I enjoy frequenting local book sales looking for interesting old books and magazines.

Yours in Harmony

Randy Johnson
  Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Drinking Water

  Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Selecting A Drinking Water Treatment System