Abstract: A personal smoking device employing a venturi scrubber completely internal to the device, to contact the smoke or vapor, with water or other liquid.

Abstract: A towable, flexible, unsinkable water sled for accommodating single or multiple riders. The water sled is designed to be towed behind a motor boat or other similar water craft. A typical embodiment consists of a foam base (14) of flexible, unsinkable, polymer foam upon which the riders ride while being towed. It is very durable, easy to store and to prepare for use. It is easy to board, can be pulled by a motor boat (not shown) of only moderate horsepower, and can be ridden by several riders at once with very different levels of skill.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for oxidizing wastes in a two-stage process. The apparatus includes an oxidation device, a gas-liquid contacting column and an electrocell. In the first stage of the process, wastes are heated in the presence of air to partially oxidize the wastes. The heated wastes produce an off-gas stream containing oxidizable materials. In the second stage, the off-gas stream is cooled and flowed through the contacting column, where the off-gas stream is contacted with an aqueous acid stream containing an oxidizing agent having at least two positive valence states. At least a portion of the oxidizable materials are transferred to the acid stream and destroyed by the oxidizing agent. During oxidation, the valence of the oxidizing agent is decreased from its higher state to its lower state. The acid stream is flowed to the electrocell, where an electric current is applied to the stream to restore the oxidizing agent to its higher valence state.