apple juice

I love riding my bike in the rain. Something about cruising down the street, water hitting your face, feet getting wet, nose cold and damp, it really makes you feel alive. While in Sweden, I learned that those crazy people just don’t care and ride in any sort of conditions. So, in an attempt to channel my inner Swede, tonight I rode about 7 miles to pick up some dinner in the wet. The decision to go riding in the rain came after a trip today to REI, from which I escaped with only minimal damage, including some new fenders for my bike.

But why did I suddenly decide to upgrade the wet weather capabilities of my bike? During spring break, I purchased a new bicycle. This was a big event for me, as this is my first new bike in about 10 years. (If you don’t count Pinkie or Mrs. Creakers) The main objective for this new bicycle is to get me to work. This has been a plan all along, but it took 3/4ths of the school year for me to get going on this.

Anyway, during the ride, I was thinking about the cost of transportation. I think that generally it’s assumed that travelling around this country in an automobile costs about .40 cents a mile. But with the recent increases in fuel cost, maybe that has risen. For the purposes of my arguments (in my head), I assumed .40 cents.

The inner truth that I came upon was that for anything that is within a 5 mile radius (10 mile round trip) of my house, if I bike there instead of driving, I can save a nice chunk of change. Four dollars to be exact.

Okay, I know that isn’t much, but repeat that over a year. How often would I drive to the hardware store, grocery store, bookstore, video game store, music store, coffee shops, various restaurants, etc in a year. All places that I can generally pack whatever I buy in a backpack, and all places that are within about 5 miles of my house.

Lots of times.

Of the 350 Miles I have on my bike now, approximately 250 have been either commuting or running errands.

250 Miles * .40 cents / mile = $100

Which I just spent at REI on gear for biking. 🙂

How high gas prices make politicians stupid. By Jacob Weisberg

Sustained high prices will bring about behavioral and political changes: energy conservation, public transportation, less exurban sprawl, and eventually the economic viability of alternative fuel sources such as biomass, fuel cells, wind, and solar power, which may one day undermine the power of the oil oligarchs. Are politicians too stupid to understand this, or just smart enough not to say it aloud?

It’s november now and it’s way too warm. Where is the snow?

I know that hydrogen fuel cell cars are supposed to be the future, but what of all that water vapor? Yes, the evils of water vapor haven’t really been explored yet. I mean seriously, one of the claims of these new fandangled hydrogen cars is that you can collect the emissions from the tailpipe into a drinking container, and drink it! Amazing!

Now imagine there are millions of cars, spewing water vapor into the atmosphere… am I the only one who has thought of this? Increased clouds, blocking out the sun, more precipitation, further cooling the earth. We could have catastrophic global cooling! An instant ice age! The new snow tires I’m about to purchase might actually be used in the snow!

Maybe we won’t have to move to canada to get some snow after all! Bring on the hydrogen revolution!

“Americans are happy with the free market when it allows them to buy cheap T-shirts and twenty-nine-dollar DVD players, but they tend to like it less when they have to pay fifty dollars to fill up their gas tanks.”

Pump Pressure – The New Yorker

I’d be willing to bet money that there is a correlation between “free-market” people and the mpg of their vehicles. The more they believe in the free-market, the more they gripe about high gas prices, and the bigger their cars and trucks are.

How’s that for some sweeping generalizations?

Seriously though, gas is too cheap in this country. We should all be paying at least $1.50/gallon more than we pay right now.

Increase the gas tax, make us pay more, build more public transit, watch our dependence on oil decrease. It’s that simple.

Did you know I had a nascent career in photography? Neither did I! I give thanks to Flickr, and the creative commons license, because I am enjoying 2 seconds of internet fame.

American Public Media’s Marketplace show did a story about green energy, and they used a picture of mine on the web page about the story!

A couple months ago, I took a picture of the BioDiesel tank at the Apple Valley Marathon, posted it to flickr, and tagged it with ‘biodiesel’.

Fast forward to this afternoon, and I received an email from the New Media Director at APR. It said: Thanks for using creative commons, we used a picture of yours, here’s the link back to the story we used it in– which is exactly what is supposed to happen.

One other funny thing about this photo. I took it with my cameraphone! Yep, all 352×288 pixels are living it up! (My digital camera on the other hand, takes something on the order of 2500×1800 pixels, quite a difference in quality)

Anyways, I think it’s pretty cool, check it out, and listen to the story!

The Marathon in Apple Valley, MN is now selling B2, B20 and B100. This is the tank outside with B20.

To get the B100 you go to the service area and ask them to fill up your fuel jugs. They have it in their register as “Soy Oil” so you may have to ask for that. B2 is in the normal pumps on the island, and the B20 is this tank, with which you have to manually reset the counter before pumping, and then go inside and tell the lady (on your honor) how much you pumped.

My TDI is running smooth and happy! And the exhaust smells like Popcorn!

The young woman working in the service area was very knowledgeable about the BioDiesel. “And did you know that BioDiesel doesn’t require a subsidy like ethanol does?” Why yes, I did know that! Maybe one of the TDI Club members was talking to her! “You guys were one of the first in the in the metro to offer B2 last year right?” “We were THE first!” she exclaimed, “And now the first in the metro selling the B20 and B100 as well. ”

The service manager on duty also mentioned that they were very pleased with sales so far.

If you’ve got a TDI and you’re interested in BioDiesel, check these guys out. I recommend going with the B20 for economic reasons. (I think I paid $3.60/gallon for the B100). Hopefully as 2006 draws nearer, there will be more stations and more production. Prices will come down. But in the meantime, this is the place to go!

B20 BioDiesel, originally uploaded by ajc3.

It looks like I’m not the only one that gets Lost in Eden Prairie

Even the Eden Prairie mayor admits it took her years to confidently find her way around town. “You’d almost think,” sighed Williams, “they didn’t know that people were coming.”

Seriously, it’s like the Bermuda Triangle over there. Once you go in, you may never find your way out again.

The city has hired experts in the new discipline of “wayfinding” to help folks make their way through a network of roads that consultants say is neither “linear nor logical.”