Burning calories instead of carbon

Serendipitously met someone in town who was headed to River Farm near Van Zant, WA. for a concert. Several bands were scheduled to play, there was camping, dancing and so forth.

Nice hot day. Ripe for a bike ride, so I headed that way myself. Yes, I could just go to Lynden or Ferndale to turn around and come back, but why not Van Zandt? Dancing around cute young shirtless guys. Nothing could beat that. Pleasant ride also.

It took 2 hours to bicycle that 23 miles and the breeze was refreshing. I spent about 4 hours at the farm with dancing and even some skinny dipping.

There were a few folks spotted among the gathering that I knew from around town and "Purple Church hippie androgynous dancing."

Rather than camping, I headed back to town that evening with lights blinking all over my bike. Got back by 10:45 to meet up with a friend who wanted to go Saturday night dancing at Rumors. More dancing, different music, different venue. Nice way to round out the day.

The friend who met me at Rumors talked about having driven down to Triangle Recreation Camp, near Seattle. That's America's largest member owned gay resort. Just about everyone at Triangle was sitting in RVs. My friend said it was kind of boring. Like "insular" life in the suburbs. Few tents, no dance or anything bringing people together was planned that weekend.

That was gay pride weekend in Seattle, so I guess most of the action would be down in the city. Nothing was planned for the campground. Hardly a soul walking the trails that day. Inside those big Rvs? Might as well be in the suburbs.

Sitting in the RV watching the DVD.

OK, living in a giant RV might be cheaper than buying a house these days.

Nice to have a dance and something to bring folks together, even if it isn't necessarily a gay campground. River Farm was joyous at least. Kind of funky with some old dumpy looking vans, tents and so forth.

I was one of 2 who bicycled there. There was at least one other.

Good news from out of this world

We need all the good news we can get. Actually it's from in this world. People developing science and technology.

Two recent unmanned space missions are just starting out and looking quite successful.

Soil sampling near the pole of Mars. They've found ice within reach of their digger gadget. The spacecraft works. Another one was lost near the pole of Mars in 1999. Being able to sample Martian ice and soil in vicinity of the lander is what they hoped for cause this lander doesn't drive like the now old Opportunity and Spirit Rovers that are still preforming on other parts of the planet. Ice and soil are both within reach of this lander. Looks good.

Now there's a new Gamma Ray Telescope in orbit. It's just being calibrated and soon to discover new things about black holes, dark matter and so forth. Working well. Gamma rays are the highest frequency of electromagnetic radiation we are aware of. New windows into our universe. In the early 1990s, we had the Compton Gamma Ray Explorer, but this one is much more sophisticated.

Some wonder why we ponder the cosmos when we are so busy with Earth's problems.

I'd rather do this than watch a football game or fight a war.

Many of these big astronomical projects are the result of international efforts, these days. Not so much USA patting itself on the back for a job well done. USA is still an important part of the picture, but many of these missions are the result of international collaboration at it's finest.

Someone I know feels we are really in trouble on this planet because global warming might be accelerating. Just wait till melting polar ice reveals trapped methane and releases it into the atmosphere. We're cooked.

My guess is, he wouldn't have much interest in Martian ice since we've got to worry about our ice.

I don't know if our global warming situation is that dire, but assuming it is, space science might be the only solution. If we're really going to fry in the next few years, we'll need to orbit a huge set of blinds between the Sun and Earth.

Levolor Blinds might be best, but I'm not working for the Levolor Blinds company. Maybe some other set of blinds would do.

Bicycling is still my form of transportation. An interest in discovery draws me to bicycling. Someone ask a friend of mine, "wouldn't biking through Eastern Montana be boring?" This friend said, "not boring to a geographer."

I've biked across Eastern Montana on a few trips. Discovered interesting flowers, thunderheads, soils, landforms, little cafes. I'll admit, Canadian CBC radio out of Regina was a help. Interesting talk. It seems like most people would just roll up their car window and shoot through an area like Eastern Montana as quickly as they can on the freeway.

An interest in discovery could help us get out of the day to day global warming rat race.

House values way ahead of wages

It seems like so many people say they ...

"Couldn't afford the house they live in if they had to buy it now."

The only reason why they can still afford to live there is the fact that they bought it years ago when prices were a lot lower. Their wages have not kept up with spiraling house values over the past years.

This means that first time home buyers tend to be priced out of the market, until houses come down in value, or wages rise dramatically.

No wonder houses are starting to come down in value.

That could be a good thing if it makes houses more affordable again.

Another side of the "not being able to afford the house you live in" coin is this.

"The house is worth less than what you owe on the mortgage."

That's most likely if one bought recently, or borrowed against the house just before the market starts to drop.

Basically houses were just too expensive compared to most other sectors of the economy.

Should the government try bailing this out?

If they think homeownership is that important, let them figure out how I could buy a house also. Buy a house without having to move too far from my job, or break my neck trying to work two jobs or stomping over folks on my way up the corporate ladder.

If my wages and savings remained the same, I could afford something in the range of $40,000 - maybe even $50,000. That's figuring about 1/3 of my income for house payments plus the savings I have for down payment.

I have a reasonably good job, by Bellingham standards. Not top dog, for sure, but not bad especially when one figures the benefits.

Problem is, there is nothing in this market, not even small condominiums; nothing even close to the $50,000 mark. Not that I know of at least.

Kulshan Community Land Trust has some experimental ideas that could be subject for another post.

Still, homeownership is not necessarily the "holy grail" for all of life. I have a very nice landlord and affordable rent within easy walking distance of work.

On a related note, someone just sent me a great column by Paul Krugman in the New York Times dated June 23 2008. Titled "Home Not-So-Sweet Home."

About how homeownership is not necessarily all its cracked up to be for everyone.

When home ownership is too much of a fad, that's one reason for the price being high. Everyone wants to do it.

Overpopulation, zoning rules and so forth push up prices as well. Also low interest rates have put a lot of cash into the market.

It's kind of like fake cash.

Most home buyers in this area seem to just get the money from the house they owned in the past, not from working.

Bottom line is, much of this home value inflation hasn't been because of wages.

Based on honest wages, can you afford the home you're now living in?

People at the top of the pay scale might be able to, but how about most of us? If not, how sustainable is this situation? Should the government try and keep the bubble going?

I think not.

There are other ways to cope, like living in a smaller space, taking in renters to help pay the bill, if you're a homeowner and zoning allows.

Solutions need to be sustainable.

Gay marriage is at least temporarily recognized in California

In Canada, gay marriage has been legal even federally for some time now. Has that society unraveled?

Canada may have even more civility and social cohesion than USA.

Canada is a good example of how things aren't falling apart, as far as I know at least. I live close to Canadian border. Canada looks pretty good.

I did hear on radio that California's new marriage law replaces language of bride and groom with "party A" and "party b."

Inclusive, but kind of barren sounding.

Maybe they should just add a few more words and say "bride and groom" or "bride and bride" or "groom and groom."

I've never planned to get married so it doesn't make a big difference to me. I'm glad people have the choice, but being single has some advantages also.

Variety in lifestyles, that creates a more diversified community.

One part of the American dream that's getting smaller, lighter, easier to carry and less expensive

Computers.

On a bike tour, I remember wandering into Starbucks to see if there was a computer for checking email. "You have to bring your own laptop to use WiFi," says the clerk. That was in the "classy" Stanford Shopping Center, near Palo Alto, CA.

Laptops were expensive and too heavy to carry on my bicycle, back then. Too heavy along with my tent, sleeping bag and so forth. Most shoppers darted in an out of jewelry stores buying gems for their lovers and driving SUVs back to their $500,000 starter homes.

With chain grease on my face, I felt like some street person wandering into that mall.

Kind of like a street person, but then I called someone from my new cellphone. A prepaid cellphone for just the summer.

It was my bike trip of 2004.

Now it's 2008 as people find they really can't afford $500,000 starter homes and SUVs are being dumped for gas prices. My bicycle still rolls and now there's a computer small enough to fit.

The Asus EeePC.

I paid well under $500 including sales tax. Less than many folks pay each month for rent. Now I can surf the web, watch Youtube, check email, use Skype at WiFi connections. Lightweight PC fits on my bike.

Runs Linux. It's a free operating system created by volunteers. I saved money by not installing Windows, which you have to pay extra for. Linux does the job.

I also looked at a few other even smaller gems, like the Apple IPod touch. The Asus really impresses me and I have often wanted to venture into the world of Linux.

Thanks to libraries for use of their computers while traveling, but more and more of the private Internet cafes require you lug along your own computer for their WiFi these days. Libraries are great, but they're often closed in the small towns I go through.

Computers keep getting smaller and cheaper. Now, even "car free," bicycling me can travel with one.

Fits in a pannier and slim enough to put other things around it.

Now if we can just learn to make "smaller and better" a mantra for other parts of the so called American dream, we can still make progress on this small planet.

You're supposed to be where? for exercise

A friend of mine just held his camera up and went snap. Dancing wild. One of the foam parties at Rumor's Cabaret where suds flow from a machine near the ceiling. Foam events are a few times each year. (Update 2019: Rumors nolonger has a foam machine). Other times without the foam, but still lights, music and energy. It's almost too much.

I'm not much of a bar person, but I sometimes go to the bar for exercise. Dancing can be some of the best exercise. Still, it's almost too crowded. Glad Washington State has made bar experiences smoke free, however.

For conversation, forget it. When the loud music's going at least.

I go to the sauna at YMCA for conversation where decibels are moderate. (Update: Bellingham Y closed the sauna in 2020). People often think of Y for exercise, but I think of the sauna which is more like a piano bar. A piano bar minus the piano and minus alcohol, where discussion can abound. There is exercise in various parts of the Y, but I usually get that elsewhere. I go to the Y like it's a piano bar and then I go to the bar like it's an exercise gym.

Funny.

Neither place I drink, except water. Don't mind paying a cover charge. How else can they keep it going if everyone was like me and just went for the pure water?

Water is usually all that's available at Purple Church; another local dancing experience. Purple Church is actually in some one's house. He bought an old church. Compared to Rumors, it's kind of like the experience of eating an apple versus the experience of eating a candy bar. Purple Church being the apple. Less intense. Maybe only one string of dim Christmas lights. No "laser, video." Less decibels, but of all it could still be my favorite. The sweetness of an apple, but it's not a candy bar.

I don't eat many candy bars, but after these experiences, from the drying heat of a Y sauna to the sweating heat of music, I often chug a lug a whole quart carton of decadently smooth chocolate milk.

Population problem more noticeable now

Population, in far parts of the world, isn't that noticeable to wealthy countries as long as most of the world's people remain poor and don't drive.

World population is more noticeable, now that more of the world is driving.

Price of oil is going up.

I ride a bicycle. Last time I bought gas was for a lawnmower when I had a lawn mowing job for an old lady who called me her "yard boy."

Some of my neighbors, here in USA, who drive, are now saying they may join me in my lifestyle.

Maybe overpopulation is good if it gets more people in USA to live like me.

Still, I think world population growth needs to be slowed down; especially as so many people wish to drive.

Back in the 1970s, my thinking was influenced by an organization called the World Watch Institute.

Come to think about it, that may have been when I had that lawn mowing job.

World Watch came out with a landmark paper linking feminism, population and the environment.

I was in college back then.

Still haven't shed my Bohemian lifestyle. I was never a "party animal," if that's what people think of when the word Bohemian comes up, however.

Today, I'm still "child free" and live in a room that's not much larger than my college dorm room was.

Now, I am glad to see another book come out from World Watch linking population, feminism and environmental issues. A more recent book which can add new energy to the discussion.

The book was featured May 29 on NPR's Talk Of The Nation Science Friday show.

Let's do the time warp again, only this time, pay attention.

Fox News as the fifth estate

For checks and balances, one might be tempted to say "that's putting the fox in charge of the hen house."

Saw this small car parked one day

Don't know much about it. Electric? Gasoline? Must get real good mileage. Great for one or two person commute without having to carry a lot of stuff.

Some folks wonder why Detroit can't make high mileage cars? Well, Americans tend to want to "have their cake and eat it too."

There's usually a trade off between safety and fuel efficiency.

Simple physics provides limitations. Of course one can strive to do better, but there are limits.

I have perpetually heard about the perpetual motion machine. The machine that government and corporations hide so it doesn't cut into oil sales.

Perpetual motion. Now that would be great mileage.

It's all Dick Cheney's fault. I voted for Gore in 2000 anyway.

In truth, one way to increase mileage is to reduce weight. Lighter vehicles do better.

I ride a bicycle.

Lighter cars get good mileage, but there are trade offs. If Americans want their cake and eat it too, they don't do trade offs well.

A smaller vehicle has less protection. I don't blame people for not wanting to be on the road around semi trucks and large SUVs in little cars.

It's the meat in the sandwich thing.

Motorcycles are said to be about the most unsafe form of transportation, but they can be fuel efficient.

My bicycle seems a lot safer, but I seldom go over 15 MPH and I am usually out of the traffic pattern. Thank God for shoulders and bike trails.

So I don't blame people for wanting the safety of larger vehicles. It protects the family.

Safety trumps fuel efficiency, especially if gas isn't that expensive.

How expensive is your life? Hospital bills can be real high compared to gas.

Detroit started making smaller cars in the late 1970s, but it takes time to retool the production lines. About the time they were retooled, gas came down in price compared to other things in the economy. Other things such as hospital bills.

When gas seemed high at around $1 per gallon, in the late 70s, one could still buy a house in Seattle for under $20,000. By 1998, gas was not much more, but try buying a Seattle home for under $300,000 then.

Late 1990s saw about the cheapest gas prices in human history. Cheapest, relative to other things in the economy. Cheaper than the 1950s in relative terms.

That wasn't a good time for selling small cars, in USA at least.

Clinton was in the White House, the tech boom was in full swing and Asian stock markets were tumbling.

Remember the late 1990s Asian stock market tumble? It was pretty much confined to Asian markets, but had the effect of slowing oil demand in that part of the world. That contributed to an oil glut on world markets. Cheap oil, at least for a while.

Bad time for Detroit to be selling smaller cars. That's when the SUVs were coming into popularity. You had the soccer moms, the security moms (or maybe they came after 911). Small car makers got burned.

Now we are in a different price environment. Gas is going up and small cars are coming back into demand.

Detroit can't tool up to make small cars in a day. It takes time to reinvent the production lines.

Going back to a 55 MPH speed limit might help demand for smaller vehicles. Collisions at slower speeds are less deadly.

Sure they can improve safety all the time. Airbags, real strong composite fibers in the frame. Still, there are always limitations to physics. Slower speed limits can help the safety of lighter vehicle users.

We just can't have it all. Maybe we can try, but there are limits.

For true safety and fuel efficiency, there is always public transit.

GLBT Resource Guide

My guide to gay community things in Bellingham has a new home. It uses the blogger system in a new way even though it isn't really a blog. Labels work well for customizing the guide under each topic, such as (for instance) "Churches."

Looking forward to the parade and main Pride day in Bellingham on July 13 2008.

It's actually a GLBTA resource guide. A stands for Friends of GLBT people. GLBT stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender.

A includes friends of other sexual orientations. Maybe it's a laundry list, but that's what being inclusive is about.

Sunday Drive, bike ride that is

Actually it was Monday bike ride (Memorial Day). Nooksack River quite high near Ferndale with snow melt from Cascades. River seen from Nooksack Dike bike trail. I went through Ferndale twice that day just riding around.

Waste of time?

At least it wasn't a waste of fuel. That's the nice thing about the Sunday drive concept on a bicycle. I did get hungry, however, but a supermarket solved that problem.

Friendly wave to the truckers who brought food to the supermarket.

Jumping from the frying pan into the fire

Frying pan of city center real estate got too hot and expensive so people jumped out into "drive till you qualify or can afford the rent" land. Then the fire of burning up fossil fuels with rising gas prices consumes them.

We need better planning. More density and destinations nearby in parts of suburbia. More public transportation. There needs to be some alternatives to having to choose between the frying pan and the fire.

Earth replica in 2008 Ski to Sea Parade

Planet Earth was in Ski to Sea Parade as part of an entry from the Restore.

Bicyclists from Mount Baker Bicycle Club and other sources were in parade also. The club shared a spot in parade with Community Car Share of Bellingham.

Car sharing and biking all go together.



While Earth did ride in a truck, bicyclists were seen with T-shirts saying, "be cool, stop global warming." We now have some bicycle taxi's in town.

Some one's 3 wheel bike with "electric assist" reflects my image in it's solar collectors.

Like last year, my bike had a sign saying "25 miles to the carton of chocolate milk."

Smart Trips and/or Mount Baker Bicycle Club had a spot in the 2007 Ski To Sea Parade. I went along for the ride. Here are a few images. Click on images for larger versions.

Someone got my picture.

Ellen's Smart Trips float.

The sign on my bike says, "25 miles to the carton of chocolate milk."

Solar power for a bike.

At the staging area.

Headed down the parade route.

To find out what Smart Trips is about, visit their web site.

Traveling to Mars

Phoenix Polar Lander is on a fantastic vacation. Wow, pictures from the landing site are far sharper than this image of Mars that I found in an old textbook.

Soon it will be time to look for some ice for the picnic cooler.

Congratulations on a successful landing.

No, they don't really have a picnic cooler full of beer and sandwiches on this unmanned mission. Still, they are hoping to find ice just under the surface. Ice that they can scoop up and analyze to learn a lot about the chemical composition of soil and ice on Mars.

Could life have ever existed on the red planet? That's one of many questions worth pondering.

Our frontiers of knowledge keep expanding.

The more we learn, the less we feel that we are at the center of the universe. It's good for humankind to have lessons in humility at times.

Enlarge my image to find some poetic writing about exploration from that old textbook. Maybe not that old, 1971.

To find more information and see much sharper pictures, visit phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

Bellingham Towers in ground fog

I'm not sure why they call it "The Towers" as it's just one tower, but ground fog provided a neat affect the morning of Bike To Work Day 2008. Turned out to be a nice day.

Bellingham Tower was built in late 1920s as a hotel. It's now offices. Sign in foreground from a local bakery.

Too much self confidence?

I lack the self confidence (or the stupidity) to drive and talk on a cell phone simultaneously. I don't drive anyway. I ride a bike.

Bike To Work and School Day in Bellingham 2008

Yes, they do have a great logo this year. Image taken from one of their posters. Vince is a good artist.

Reasons why I am not biking to work that morning

I live so close, I just walk to work.

I work at night so I will be walking home from work that morning, but I plan to stop by the downtown Bellingham celebration station and say hi.

Sprawl happens one parking lot, business, home at a time

And Rome wasn't built in a day.

Riding around town and country on my bike, I'm noticing some strip malls that weren't there last year. New ones along Pacific Highway in the outskirts of Ferndale, WA. for instance.

I don't mean to pick on those specifically. They are, after all, along the freeway, on a frontage road.

There have been businesses on that road in the past. Now there are more.

More ... or at least a few businesses and some empty storefronts.

The tail end of our local "early 2000s building boom?"

Sprawl seems to never be intentional. Few people say they want sprawl. It just happens one building at a time.

Like taking life one day at a time?

Life happens. It's not ideal, or at least that's what folks say. "Be realistic," they say.

One building is really not sprawl. Not sprawl until there's another one and another one and another one ...

One building is usually just some "business solution." A need for more space, convenient parking, highway access.

To a large extent, it's the convenience of the automobile and parking that "drives" this (pardon the pun).

I've often said, "if one could fold up the automobile and put it in a coat pocket for parking, the American landscape would evolve differently."

Sprawl isn't intentional, but it still happens, one place at a time.

Decisions by planners can feed sprawl, but often planners are kind of hamstrung by the political process.

Laws requiring parking space are part of this, but try changing the way it's been done and you get a world of worry.

Are people still going to shop there?

If there isn't enough parking, will there be overflow parking in nearby residential areas?

Worry, worry, worry.

Higher gas prices may help to break these patterns.

Having your cake and eating it too

"Nuclear free" without being mostly "car free" also.

As long as people insist on driving as much as they do now, we will likely have to turn to nuclear power for our energy needs.

Heating and cooling large homes takes gobs of energy also.

Nuclear isn't necessarily that bad, but slowing down and consuming less isn't bad either.

I keep hearing that wind and solar power will just not be enough; in the near future at least.

Nuclear is likely to become a larger part of the energy mix. Possibly powering electric cars in the not too distant future.

KGO talk show host Bill Wattenburg has even blamed global warming on environmentalists. Environmentalists have blocked construction of nuclear, thus adding to the need for burning fossil fuel in energy production.

The logic makes sense.

Main point I make is that we can't have our cake and eat it too.

We can always try, however.

Maybe someday there will be a "magic energy source" with no downside.

Hydrogen fusion rather than nuclear fission?

Aw, the topic of another blog post some day.

While I'm not against atomic energy, I also say that slowing down and being less materialistic is a virtue as well.

Remember that newer electronics can use less energy and do more things than older electronics. Smaller, but still better.

Think vacuum tubes vs transistors?

Maybe life can mimic electronic technology someday.

Smaller homes? Closer and friendlier neighbors? Walking to work? Biking to work? Good public transit?

Am I idealistic? That's actually how I'm living now. It can be done, but inertia keeps people where they're at.

We can gradually change inertia.

Whichever way we go, we just can't have our cake and eat it too.

Car drivers who want affordable electric cars may have to bite the bullet and support nuclear energy, for a while at least. Until the more magic answer comes along, what ever that will be.

I also remember this phrase, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

Is road trip tenting on the decline in America?

Sure, you can still buy tents at the recreational supply boutique and pay plenty for them. These tents are used along wilderness trails.

What about tent camping on a road trip? Alongside the highway? Does the car driving public still use tents? Where does that leave me, as a bicycle tourist?

There are still places to camp, but I'm noticing less tent camping.

Maybe I'm wrong. Is this just my perception?

People who travel by car, on road trips don't use tents anymore. They've graduated to RVs. Yes, the big RVs with satellite dishes and all of that.

Energy in short supply? You'd never know it.

Seems like more and more campgrounds are for "RVs only."

Places that allow tents are still around, government run state parks and so forth, but RVs are taking over. Especially in the private campgrounds. Maybe this has always been the case, but it seems like private campgrounds are often just "RV parks."

Camping is getting more expensive and tent camping, even in some state, county and other parks is getting crowded out.

They must run all those RVs with plutonium generators. That's the way spacecraft are powered as they sail out to places like Saturn. Places too far from the Sun for solar panels.

Radio Thermal Generators. RTGs for short. Just kidding. They do work well in space however.

Bicycle touring still relies on tent camping. RTGs for the big screen TV are a bit heavy to carry.

Where can we camp?

I know, many bicycle tourists just "free camp." Don't bother trying to be "legitimate" in campgrounds. Who needs to pay the fee?

In regions that are specifically set up for bicycle touring, like that beautiful string of state parks along the California Coast with "hiker / biker" sites, it's great. Camp there for only $3 per night (last I checked).

Bicyclists still use tents and some areas subsidize, (basically roll out the red carpet), to encourage bicycle touring.

Hard to beat $3 per night in areas where "starter homes" may be in the million dollar range.

Energy shortage, recession, mortgage crisis be dammed. Much of America is still in the stratosphere.

Do automobile travelers still use tents?

One sees a few.

When I was a kid, lots of car campers used tents.

Now days, there are the "rent an RV" companies. I don't remember seeing those in my childhood. Now the road's crowded with them.

"See America, rent for the week."

An innovative idea. One need not own an RV to drive one. It must not be too expensive as the average American gets so little vacation anyway. A week or two of RV rental can't be too much.

So, I'm still the "odd ball" doing bicycle touring. Camping by tent, but I find myself staying in motels more often than in years past.

Am I getting old or becoming a flabby yuppie?

Motels are tempting when sleeping on the ground can cost around $20 while a small town motel might just be $38. One doesn't even have to pitch a tent and yes, it is fun to watch TV.

Maybe this is nothing new. In 1993, I found a place in North Dakota where it cost $7 to pitch a tent and only $10 for a basement motel room. That room was a bargain.

Comparison

Myanmar's horrible military junta that doesn't allow aid into the country after the cyclone makes the Bush Administration's mistakes with aid after Hurricane Katrina look mild and innocent.

Big Ole Steam Whistle test at WWU

May 4 2008, I biked up to campus with my camera. Waited and watched for several test blasts of the historic steam whistle called Big Ole.

Built in the 1890s, it served on Bellingham's waterfront at 2 different mills. Then moved to Port Alberni, BC. in the 1940s.

Modified in Port Alberni as it was so loud it broke windows.

In 1997, Big Ole came back to Bellingham as a historic artifact. A year or so ago, it was tested at the Encogen Power Plant on Bellingham's waterfront.

Still works, but has a strange moan after it's modification.

Recently installed on the steam heating plant at Western Washington University. They plan to use Big Ole as part of a campus emergency warning system. I read that it's not as loud as they would like it to be.

A few people came out of nearby buildings wondering what the sound was. One person thought it might be a line break at the boilers.

This is definitely a unique sound. I wonder if emergency warning sirens would work better if they had a standardized sound? Is there a protocol for emergency sounds, like the standardized number of 911?

On the other hand, maybe a unique sound gets more attention?

Is it better used for ceremony? Announcing a big festival on campus? At least festivals are pleasant events rather than than emergencies.

Of course there are things like fire drills, where one can experience the sound without having to have an emergency. It's usually hoped that an emergency will never happen.

My camera didn't pick up the sound very well. Video 20 seconds.

Careful bicycling down hill

I'm nervous going over 15 MPH. Maybe that's why I'm Theslowlane. Recently, a car pulled out into the right of way, basically running the stop sign as a cyclist was coming down Barkley Blvd. I'm not sure how fast the cyclist was going, but he was killed as the car pulled into his path and he slammed into the side of the car.

Scary.

The cyclist had the right of way. Details in recent Bellingham Heralds.

Still, I'm wary going down hill. There are a lot of unpredictable circumstances. Stones in the road, cars pulling out, car doors opening. I'm nervous going over 15 MPH. on my bicycle.

I'm also afraid to drive a car, period. One small mistake and one's life can turn to regret. A mistake by car is more likely to inflict harm on others. A bicycle isn't totally harm free to others, but harm is less likely. I prefer bicycling at my slow pace. Also seems easier to see who's around when one is on a bike; pedestrians, bikes, cars. Cars can have a lot of blind spots.

Scary.

In spite of all this, I still feel safe on my bike, going at my slow pace.

Errands around town

A friend got my picture as I was on my way around town.

AMA medicine's biggest side effect: cost

Yes, I basically believe in most of traditional medicine. The doctors I have gone to have seemed to exhibit common sense over the years.

This isn't true for all doctors I am sure.

Even the physicians I have seen will admit that avoiding the doctor is a good idea most of the time. Probably the biggest side effect of medicine is the high cost. This can actually cripple one's lifestyle. Folks often hold a job they don't like because they want the health insurance. Health insurance is getting rarer for the work force.

I like simple phrases like, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

There's also non traditional medicine, but be careful.

"Non traditional" may just be another thing with a cost.

I'm amazed how many pills, workshops and treatments are out there. Herbs for just about everything. It's dizzying just to go into a place like the Food Co-op and look at all the bottles. Trying to figure out which herb works for which gland can cause severe eye strain. All that fine print. Who's telling the truth? Some of this is useful, but it can also be just another layer of cost.

Many non traditional practices, like Transcendental Meditation, for instance, can be useful and are even suggested by a lot of regular doctors.

Good diet, exercise and low stress seem to be low cost no brainers.

I like soups with a bit of meat and lots of vegetables. Most Americans eat too much meat, but a touch of meat adds flavor.

One can say about meat, "a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down." Famous quote from Marry Poppins. Local Food Co-op often has at least one vegetable soup with a hearty touch of meat.

Exercise is easy for me. It's integrated into my bicycling lifestyle.

I can understand how exercise is more of a chore for some people though. I feel that way about brushing my teeth. A chore worth procrastinating and finding excuses not to do.

According to most dentists, brushing several times per day and flossing at least once per day is high priority.

I guess a dentist would see the entire world from the perspective of one's mouth, like an economist might see the whole world from the perspective of money.

At least my diet doesn't have too much sugar so I get by without too many mouth problems even though I'm not perfect.

McCain's summer gas tax holiday idea full of potholes

Who's going to pay for the road and transportation construction during Presidential candidate John McCain's proposal for a summer holiday from federal gas taxes?

Much of this revenue now goes to road construction. Will this construction just grind to a halt laying off all those workers? Will future traffic gridlock just get worse due to lack of funding for transportation infrastructure?

Or will construction continue and just be added to the federal debt?

It's so easy to just promise everyone the world and then add it to the debt. Maybe there is no consequence from adding to the debt. It's just like plucking money from the money tree.

Who is not thinking these things through all the way?

Obama Yoga

Barack Obama is a different kind of name than past presidents. Getting used to this would be a stretch for mainstream society, but stretching can be healthy. It's the nation doing Obama Yoga.

Where will people of the city go in the world made by hand?

Rural like mural on side of urban like apartment building.

Author James Howard Kunstler was recently interviewed on KUOW Radio about his novel titled "World Made By Hand."

Set after cheap oil basically runs out, the novel is about a future vision of society that's largely agrarian. People growing their own food in upstate New York.

Is this the life that follows our current world of suburban sprawl, interstate highways, box stores and Disnyworlds?

I doubt it, or at least I wonder what will happen to the people in places like New York City where there isn't that much land per person to grow food?

It's true that America's suburbs have a lot of problems. Over dependency on the automobile, encroachment on natural habitat, the list is endless, but part of what has driven suburban growth is nostalgia for a lost rural America.

Would Kunstler's "grow your own" vision just add to that nostalgia force for dumping more people into sensitive rural environments?

Suburbs provided the best of both worlds. Modern amenities, but still space for a garden, possibly even a horse. Some folks moved there so they could grow their own food, after collapse of society which has been predicted ever since I can remember, but hasn't happened so far.

It's time to retrofit our suburbs so they work more like the urban centers. The suburbs don't seem to be going away.

Now days, many are drawn to the suburbs by economics. They can't afford to live anywhere else. As traffic and other dysfunctional aspects of suburban life gets worse, the suburbs become less desirable and less expensive than urban settings.

"Less expensive" becomes their appeal.

In Kunstler's vision of a more agrarian society, I wonder what will happen to the urban dwellers who aren't currently spread out across the land and don't have access to soil. Rooftop gardens and vacant lots can help, but it's not enough.

Maybe I should write a "post cheap oil" novel.

My vision would be more recognizable to current American society, but consumption wouldn't be at such an extreme as it is in today's society. Taking the train more often, instead of flying, for instance.

Kunstler, himself, is a big fan of the railroad even though he seems to be flying all over the country promoting his book. While flying from one "book signing" to the next, he comments on the dismal state of America's airlines battered with rising fuel costs. He even suggests a future where electric power isn't even available so most of our high tech toys become trash.

From one extreme world to the next. Today's consumerism all the way back to the 18th century.

I'd say, "if we can have enough technology, organization and energy to run the train, we'll have enough electricity to run the Internet."

Trains can actually be quite impressive, technologically. Internet connections on board. GPS telling when the next train arrives. Good food on board.

It's true that air travel takes a lot more energy per passenger mile than railroads. Unless we can magically harness something like nuclear power and create some sort of hydrogen fuel, air travel is likely to remain in decline.

Maybe I should write a novel.

In my world, the suburbs would be retrofitted into denser, more urban worlds.

Automobiles would be rare while walking and bicycling would be the rage.

Public health would improve. People would be slimmer and sexier, in my opinion.

Public transit would be just about everywhere.

More trains and less planes.

Lifestyles would be less consumer oriented and more bohemian in nature. Folks would have more free time for artistic and cultural activities while living in modest spaces.

Automation could remain, but the human workweek becomes shorter.

"Work less, consume less, live more fully."

Percentage of the population raising families with kids would be smaller, but the fewer kids would inherit a friendlier somewhat quieter world. Eventually a less crowded world.

There would still be the kind of technology that doesn't use lots of energy. High tech electronics for the most part.

Food production would change to some extent, but most people would still shop for their food rather than grow it. Some folks would live on farms, but there would have to be quite a few farmland preservation rules.

Diets would become simpler in my post cheap oil world. Hopefully, people wouldn't be quite as obese as so many of today's folks are. Food from distant parts of the world would become somewhat more expensive, but it could still be available. Much of it would arrive in "sail assisted" cargo ships. Rooftop gardening would become popular, where roofs are strong enough to hold up the weight.

My vision of the world would kind of be like riding the train. Meeting lots of new friends in the dining car who marvel at how much friendlier people are on the train than on a plane.

I haven't had occasion to fly since the early 1980s. Haven't had any book tours with tight schedules.

Maybe I should write a novel.

My first Earth Day, 1970 at Pullman High School

1970, I was a freshman in Pullman High School, Pullman, WA. Art and humanities teachers led a tree planting day on the dry grassy bank down from the high school parking lot.

Pragmatic minded and I think more politically conservative, the biology teacher laughed and said he didn't think the trees would "take hold" there. Dry grassy bank was not quite the environment for that type of tree to thrive in; unless someone had time to constantly organize a "watering brigade." Leave it to the biology teacher to figure that out.

That Earth Day planting activity was a beautiful thought, but, sure enough, I think most of the trees died. Maybe a few took hold.

Bio fuel debacle

Yes, there are a wide variety of bio fuels, some better than others, but...

I've always been more excited about reducing dependency on automobiles all together rather than just fueling "car nation" with vegi-fuel.

Transit, bicycles, tele-commuting and denser urban living is the way to go.

In some third world countries, food is becoming real expensive due to competition between eating and driving. Fueling vegi-cars has taken food away from the mouths of people. This is a sad consequence of vegi-driving.

Here in USA, some environmentalists have predicted the demise of our food industry as well. High oil prices means less agri-business-trucking to the supermarkets.

Do they say we should all get cars and move out to the country where we can grow our own food, rather than living in the city where we can walk to work and the supermarket?

Here in the city, food prices have risen a bit, but it's not catastrophic, not here in America at least. We can adjust as we have a lot of agri-business-trucking infrastructure for wiggle room. Rural residents are struggling more with their high gas prices, but food prices go up more modestly.

In some third world countries, the food situation is far worse. Vegi-driving in USA and other places is literally robbing corn from the mouths of people in countries where there is less wiggle room in the "agri-business-trucking" economy to absorb the price.

I'd rather eat my vegetables and then ride my bicycle home from the supermarket.