exhalations

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2010-03-26T11:36:00.001-04:00

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Booking cheap flights

2010-02-19T23:22:00.001-05:00

Booking a Flight the Frugal Way from the NYT.

11 minutes of football

2010-01-29T20:44:00.004-05:00

I've often wondered how much time is actually spent playing football during a regular 60 minute NFL game? 11 minutes. No wonder it's such a boring game, not unlike baseball. How much time is spent playing soccer in a 90 minute match? 90 minutes.

Organic Bikes

2010-01-29T16:49:00.001-05:00

We like the idea behind Organic Bikes:

We began Organicbikes.com to re-think the way that bicycles and cycling products are manufactured, used, and recycled. While we do not claim to be fully "green", or sustainable across the board—we think we have some great ideas and we are very excited to present them here! We hope that people will not only choose a bicycle over their car for transportation, but that they will consider Organic Bikes as a more sustainable choice in Bicycles!

Gary Snyder's Mac

2010-01-23T10:22:00.003-05:00

My favorite poet, Gary Snyder, lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He built his first house from local materials with the help of friends, with no electricity or many other modern conveniences. Now he writes poetry on a Mac as discussed in the New York Times article Digital Muse for Beat Poet. The short article includes the following poem:

Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh

By Gary Snyder

Because it broods under its hood like a perched falcon,

Because it jumps like a skittish horse and sometimes throws me,

Because it is poky when cold,

Because plastic is a sad, strong material that is charming to rodents,

Because it is flighty,

Because my mind flies into it through my fingers,

Because it leaps forward and backward, is an endless sniffer and searcher,

Because its keys click like hail on a boulder,

And it winks when it goes out,

And puts word-heaps in hoards for me, dozens of pockets of gold under boulders in streambeds, identical seedpods strong on a vine, or it stores bins of bolts;

And I lose them and find them,

Because whole worlds of writing can be boldly laid out and then highlighted and vanish in a flash at �delete,� so it teaches of impermanence and pain;

And because my computer and me are both brief in this world, both foolish, and we have earthly fates,

Because I have let it move in with me right inside the tent,

And it goes with me out every morning;

We fill up our baskets, get back home,

Feel rich, relax, I throw it a scrap and it hums.

Recumbent stuff

2010-01-12T12:35:00.004-05:00

The Recumbent Blog, which was abandoned when EcoVelo was started, was taken over by Penny and Rob Mackenzie of Alberta, Canada and now has regular postings. While perusing the latest info I happened across a couple of interesting videos:

2009 Australian International Pedal Prix � Round 3, a 24 hour human-powered endurance race:

and two videos of a talk in 1989 by Steve Roberts about his 16,000 mile journey by bike. He carried solar-powered computers and wrote extensively about this travels and the equipment he used. I recall hearing about him at the time. He now travels by boat and publishes the Nomadness blog among other things.

TransAm route in around 6 minutes

2010-01-08T19:55:00.004-05:00

It's been too long since my first cross county bike trip, the Southern Tier route back in 1999. One day I'd like to ride the Adventure Cycling TransAm route, which begins in Virginia and ends in Oregon. This short slideshow is a series of photos that give a good feel for the route (via Biking Bis):

Profile of John Mackey of Whole Foods

2010-01-04T14:22:00.002-05:00

Trying to find the time to read Food Fighter: Does Whole Foods' C.E.O. know what's best for you? by Nick Paumgarten

Are electric cars the solution?

2010-01-04T14:13:00.003-05:00

Some people think we can help solve the climate crisis by switching to electric cars. While it is certainly one part of the solution, an over reliance on fossil fuels, there are many other problems associated with depending too much on cars for transportation. What would happen if Seattle switched entirely to electric vehicles?

...the full electric conversion would cut Seattle�s road transportation emissions about in half, which would reduce the City�s total carbon footprint by about one fifth.

Of course, there are also many downsides left out of the above analysis:

There are significant GHG emissions resulting from car use in addition to those associated with simply propelling the car. For example, Toyota estimates that manufacture accounts for 30 percent of a Prius� lifetime GHG emissions. In addition, the infrastructure required for cars is a source of GHG emissions�one study estimates that roadway construction and maintenance adds another 26 percent to the GHG emissions associated with operating a conventional car.

Rising fossil fuel costs and carbon pricing will inevitably result in rising demands on carbon-free electricity from all sectors, and electric vehicles may end up competing for energy needed to supply the basics, such as heating homes.

The Puget Sound region is projected to grow by 1.6 million people by 2040, an increase of more than 40 percent. If we do nothing other than convert our fleet, we can expect VMT to rise proportionally. And in this scenario, we�d have to choose between a massive amount of road building or total gridlock. Note that this this scenario would also mean a forty-plus percent increase in electricity consumed by electric vehicles.

Electric cars are expensive (it�s all about the batteries). A new $30k electric car for every Seattle household would cost about $9 billion�more than twice the City's total annual budget of $3.9 billion.

And lastly, electric cars, like conventional cars, inherently cause a host of negatives, including accidents, high cost of ownership, sedentary lifestyles, social isolation, land consumption, impervious pavement, and the proliferation of terrible urban design.

In the long term however, it is delusional to think that we can go on with car-centric business as usual if we simply switch to electric vehicles. Indeed, our future prosperity will be determined to a large degree by how successfully we reduce reliance on cars. And that means reshaping our urban areas such that (1) people can meet many of their daily needs with short trips that can be made on foot or bike, and (2) convenient public transit is available for longer trips. (Hint: some folks like to call such places transit-oriented communities.)

Copenhagen Wheel

2010-01-03T17:15:00.002-05:00

From Virginia Intelligent Transportation Systems: "Unveiled at the COP15 United Nations Climate Conference, The Copenhagen Wheel transforms ordinary bicycles into hybrid e-bikes that also function as mobile sensing units. 'The Copenhagen Wheel' allows you to capture the energy dissipated while cycling and braking and save it for when you need a bit of a boost. Controlled through your smartphone, it also maps pollution levels, traffic congestion, and road conditions in real-time."

David Byrne coming to DC

2009-11-22T22:15:00.003-05:00

The Brookings Institute is sponsoring Cities, Bicycles, and the Future of Getting Around, "a conversation about practical and imaginative ways to promote alternative forms of transportation. The event will launch Cities for Cycling, a National Association of City Transportation Officials project to break down barriers to bicycle-friendly street design in municipalities around the United States." The event will be held at the Newseum on December 8 fro 5-7 p.m.

David Byrne, formerly of the Talking Heads and author of Bicycle Diaries will be one of the panelists. When on tour, Byrne travels with a folding bike and explores and writes about his adventures. Those writings formed the basis of Bicycle Diaries, a book about travel more than about bikes.

Other panelists include Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Should be a lively discussion.

Recent links

2009-11-20T21:14:00.004-05:00

Interview with Cormac McCarthy in the Wall Street Journal.

Uncollected stories of JD Salinger for various sources between 1940 and 1965.

Drawing is Thinking, a short video of Milton Glaser drawing and talking about drawing.

Riding is My Ritalin

2009-11-15T22:12:00.003-05:00

Good article in Bicycling magazine about the use of exercise instead of drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) entitled Riding is My Ritalin. Thirty years ago studies were conducted that showed the positive effects of using exercise as a treatment for ADHD but those studies never received much publicity. The article notes that the leading ADHD advocacy group has received support from Ciba-Geigy, makers of Ritalin.

Cross country trip memories

2009-11-07T11:24:00.003-05:00

In 1999 I left the USGS and took a bicycle trip from San Diego, CA to St. Augustine, FL with 13 other cyclists on an Adventure Cycling trip. We left San Diego on Sept. 19 and arrived in St. Augustine on Nov. 20, nearly 10 years ago. It was a great trip with a friendly, interesting group of people.

During the trip we all used reflective safety triangles to increase our visibility on the road. I've used one ever since. It's a small device that sends a clear message: slow vehicle ahead. It's also very reflective. It was used for another purpose on our trip. If we left the established route for a side trip and hadn't told anyone beforehand, we were supposed to leave the triangle in a visible location to let the others know where we were.

One day a small group of us decided at the last minute to take a short side trip. I left my triangle tied to a sign post. I think I forgot to pick it up when we rejoined the route, and our leader who was riding sweep didn't see it either. As a result, a new triangle was ordered from Adventure Cycling and we received it a few days later.

I mentioned this episode to Art McMundie, a friend of a friend who was going to take the same trip with four other cyclists this year. They completed their trip in in April. Yesterday I received an envelope that contained the triangle pictured above. Art had remembered my story about the long lost triangle and during his trip he spotted the tattered, sun-bleached triangle that is likely the one I left behind 10 years ago. I was floored.

Bike rap video

2009-09-22T20:26:00.002-04:00

Happened across this fun Austrian rap video featuring some great bikes. I could understand two phrases: "low rider" and "beach cruiser".

J.G. Ballard Stories

2009-09-18T09:18:00.002-04:00

Good review of The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard in the NY Times. The Washington Post also reviewed the book.

Exercising to fight childhood obesity

2009-08-20T10:58:00.002-04:00

Most of the efforts to reduce childhood obesity have focused on reducing calorie intake. A new study indicates that increasing exercise is a better solution:

VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY VS CUTTING ENERGY INTAKE

In a recent letter to the Physical Activity and Public Health On-Line Network, Professor Bernard Gutin, of the University of North Carolina wrote, "Recent evidence suggests that efforts to prevent child obesity are more likely to succeed if they emphasize vigorous physical activity rather than restriction of energy intake. The key principles are:

(1) studies of physical activity interventions should use as an outcome measure some index of fatness rather than weight;
(2) restriction of energy intake is contrary to the biologic needs of growing children; and
(3) vigorous exercise is more effective than moderate physical activity.

"Because of the time delay between the emergence of new evidence and its actual application, it will take years before we see publications of studies based on these ideas. In the meanwhile, I would be interested in hearing from people who are formulating or implementing interventions that focus on vigorous physical activity rather than restriction of energy intake." Contact:

*See "Child Obesity Can Be Reduced With Vigorous Activity Rather Than Restriction of Energy Intake," Obesity (2008) 16 10, 2193D2196.

Dogfish Head Alehouse in Greenbriar

2009-08-16T08:47:00.003-04:00

According to the sign on the door of the Dogfish Head Alehouse in the Greenbriar Shopping Center, located on Route 50 just west of the Fairfax County Parkway, it will open this week. I stopped by yesterday and while I was there, several cars pulled up to read the sign. A private event was scheduled for later that day, always a good sign that the final bugs are being worked out and the place should open soon.

Unfortunately there is no bike parking available. In the photo you can almost make out the two bikes locked to trees just outside the restaurant. The lack of bike parking was brought to the attention of Dogfish earlier in the year and they were going to look into it. Now's the time.

Reburbia

2009-08-11T22:41:00.001-04:00

What to do with suburban sprawl? Reburbia presents some possible solutions.

Kottke's 50 essential films post

2009-08-03T22:05:00.001-04:00

Kottke's post on Roger Ebert's comments on the top 10 of The Spectator's top 50 list.

Cash for clunkers is a bad idea

2009-08-03T21:51:00.003-04:00

Initially it sounded good; get older, more polluting and less fuel efficient cars off the road and replace them with more fuel efficient cars. However, there is a downside. Here are a few of the points made by Discovering Urbanism's post C.A.R.S. will hurt the environment:

1. There will be more cars on the road.
2. Shifts in driving behavior compensate for fuel efficiency gains.
3. Manufacturing new cars adds more embodied energy.
4. Alternative modes of transportation will be discouraged.
5. The opportunity cost of $3 Billion means good programs are not happening. The $2 Billion that was authorized yesterday by Congress for the extension of C.A.R.S is being taken from money allocated in last year's stimulus bill for renewable energy programs. By instituting the C.A.R.S program, the federal government is opting to not institute programs that may actually reduce carbon output.

NextBus iPhone app

2009-07-31T23:27:00.002-04:00

I may have to lay down $2.99 to purchase the NextBus DC iPhone app. GGW has a good review and it sounds like it's worthwhile, giving an estimated time of arrival of the next MetroBus. Not sure if it includes Fairfax Connector bus but assume that's the case.

Brew pub in Leesburg

2009-07-31T23:18:00.002-04:00

Just learned that there is a brew pub located in Leesburg, Vintage 50. Looks like they've got a good lineup of beers on tap; not sure if they are brewed locally.

Found a reference to this place while trying to find out info about the opening of the Dogfish Head Alehouse on Route 50 in Fairfax at the Greenbriar Shopping Center. It sounds like it might be open in mid August.

Bicycle route mapping summary

2009-07-28T16:04:00.002-04:00

Bike Portland recently published a good overview of current bike route mapping developments.

Bicycle glossary

2009-07-28T16:01:00.001-04:00

The International Bicycle Fund has an online Glossary of Bicycle Transportation Terms.