Hello again have been on a really weird schedule of late, getting up at three in the morning trying to stay awake as long as possible and usually back in bed by six of seven in the evening. It was a terrible regime. I was constantly tired and depressed as I had to wait for hours before anything was open, actually I had to wait for hours till the sun came up so I could go out. I think I've managed to shake it today I got up at half seven had breakfast and I sit here now typing at a more social hour than I have in a while. I think the point of this account is to demonstrate how not having a rhythm to your day that corresponds with the natural light cycle can screw with your brain. I'm all better now, I think...
Anyway, my girl spotted
this the other day on
Treehugger. Sussex enterprises are a company that builds shaft driven bikes, yes bikes with no chain. I like this idea it add to the complexity of the bike but the overall performance and efficiency is apparently increased. It seem like the type of assembly that would require very little maintenance and it looks solid enough to me. Some people a sticklers for doing things the old way and are not open to new concepts like this so I hope it takes off. I feel their folding city bike is the perfect thing for those commuters who would bring a bike on a train or bus for a portion of their journey and the shaft system should drastically reduce the possibility of getting oil on you work clothes while you carry it.
Well winter is here and you may have noticed that it gets dark a lot earlier now so you'll be needing a decent light on that bike or your so you don't cripple yourself by hitting a pothole or curb. I would always forget to take the little LED lights off me bike when I parked it in the city and so they were always being stolen. These little lights never really worked for me as I could be seen by other road users but on a dark road I couldn't really see what was in front of me. The construction was crap to, the little plastic mounts were weak and attaching them with cable ties made the vandals were more determined. One solution is to make your own bike lamp. The
Make magazine
blog has
this little piece (Is well as other links) on how to build your own heavy duty, 18V (Looks like a drill battery), super duper bike light. The full instruction set is available
here through
instructables.
Reuters has an article today about
extreme recycling in Antarctica. Everything that is produced by the myriad of scientific expeditions there is boxed up and sent back to America to be recycled. There are fines and other punishments for anybody on the continent who breaks the strict rules which are in place to protect the delicate environment there which is under threat as it is from global warming. This is something that should be a lessen to us all in my opinion.
Another environmental piece that has been doing the rounds the last few days is
this list of the top ten alternative energy solutions for the future. An interesting read, no one of these technologies will be the saving grace of humanity but if we combine them all an apply them in environments where they will be best suited then we can replace virtually all our current fossil fuel dependent transport and power stations.
Ok I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. Bye bye...
We finished the evening with a viewing of 'Shortbus'. Surprisingly this is a great film to see as a couple, or maybe more appropriately, for the kind of couple we are. John Cameron Mitchell made a film so warm and human that the fact of real sexual acts being performed is relevant without it being 'porn' or awkward or whatever it was/is negative responses have deemed. Don't follow the sheep, see it for yourself. If you haven't seen JCM's Hedwig yet, watch that too and make it a double feature.
