upCYCLE- Please take this idea and run, I mean, well, um, PEDAL with it!

reduce, reuse, upCYCLE

 

 

 

Lubbock needs a bicycle exchange.

 

 



A short time after the spring semester ends, if you watch closely, you can see the trailers at Texas Tech that gather up all of the abandoned bicycles that students leave behind. Then you can see the mountain of them parked outside the police station waiting for the annual fall auction.

 

Many of the large bike retailers in town receive a fair number of bicycle returns after each holiday season. These bikes tend to have very small issues, but most are scrapped.

 

The simple advantages of using bicycles for daily transportation are huge: better health, extremely low cost, less traffic, easier parking, phenomenally better for the planet that we would like to pass on to future generations, etc.

 

So here it is - open a bike exchange. Run it as a private business. Run it as a non-profit. Run it as a social club. Run it as a school that teaches repair, restoration, or simple maintenance. Run it as a way to offer a leg up for those who are in rough financial straits. Run it as an outreach to provide bikes and safety training for children. Run it as a place to give retired mechanics a sense of purpose.

 

Feel free to use the name, the logo, the idea, the enthusiasm.

 

Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

May you experience the joy of a fall breeze rustling through your hair, no matter how much you have.

Another Cool Aquaponics System and Send in the Clones

Those of you who have been following this blog know that I love aquaponics systems and I love locally produced, organic food. The two phenomenal women in my life bought me a pair of aquaponics setups for Christmas last year, and I have learned a great deal from them and have a much better idea of what is needed to be successful with an aquaponics setup. The system limitations taught me the following lessons (Except number 6 - Google taught me that one):

Lesson #1 - Grow bed flooding needs to be intermittent - not constant. Constantly flooded roots = root rot. So, your plant that shot up and thrived for a month will quickly drop dead.
Lesson  #2 - You still need convenient access to the fish tank. You still get algae and other detritus that needs to be cleaned.
Lesson #3 - the fish still need supplememental aeration - apologies to the brave little guys who gave their lives for me to learn this one.
Lesson #4 - 3 gallons of water is not enough for a stable aquatic environment. See apology in Lesson #3.
Lesson #5 - LED grow lights are a game changer and encourage the plants to grow up straight rather than leaning toward the window light.
Lesson #6 - There are mystery crawdads that exist and have the ability to clone themselves. (No - I learned this is a real thing - not just a movie starring Tara Reid on the Sci-Fi channel.) They were somewhat randomly discovered in a German pet shop several years ago. Now you can buy them on Ebay - but you probably should not mess with things like that - especially the mad scientist guy that reads this blog. You know who you are.

Today, I learned about another modular aquaponics system that seems to address lessons 1-5 to some extent, and it looks cool in your Manhattan apartment. And it's got that vaguely hourglass shape that made a big cola company lots of money...

I don't think I'll ask for this one for Christmas - I want to build an ugly one that uses reclaimed materials and has absolutely no visual appeal - so I'll let you judge for yourself.

http://www.aqualibrium.com/

By the way - the random business idea for the week - the Tupperware brand needs to be resurrected if we are going to keep popping out these modular aquaponics systems. :-#

May your food be pesticide free and may you know the joy of seeing something in your care thrive!

Easy Breezy Bupkis

As I lay in bed last night trying to go to sleep, I listened to the wind brushing the crepe myrtles against the house. The wind did not cry "Mary" or "Mariah" or any other woman's name, but the wind did speak to me in an annoying Jewish mother voice. "Oy vey," said the wind, "my son the so-called 'mesquite hugger' - but he won't even get off his tukhus and build a little wind generator! What a schlub he is!"

And what she meant was that I have all the stuff - batteries, treadmill motor, bicycle wheels, inverter, and God knows we have the wind here, a charge controller, several defunct computer backup systems. Oy vey, I am a schmo! It's time to get to work!

For those of you who have heard similar groanings in the wind, here are some more Instructables for inspiration:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-a-Wind-Turbine/

And, in the past week there have been four separate treadmills posted in the "free" section of the Lubbock Craigslist.

So, get out there and build your own, be a mensch among shmucks! Shalom!

(RIP Lou Reed - your music has been a blessing in my life.)

Electric Car Optimism

More excited than I should be about this one - I had my fourth Tesla Model S sighting on Saturday around noon, but unlike the others, this one was in our part of the world. It was just a little south of
Justiceburg on Highway 84. It was black and running with traffic on a 75mph road.

So, why am I so darned excited? Because this is an electric car that is a real car - a road trip car. Realistically, it probably came from the Dallas area and still had enough charge to be running 75mph way out in our West Texas boonies. It's not a car for the masses yet, but it's a big step closer than anything we've seen. And the bigger car manufacturers have a target to aim for.

I guess it's time for me to break out the soldering iron and get to work!

May you have a glorious day and may our Monday morning fog be a blessing rather than curse.

Random Insect of the Day

    

I see these guys every once in a while. This one was on our mailbox this morning. No idea what it is or does. 

May your day be filled with the wonder of creation!

Urban Wildlife - Lubbock Style

At the local coffee a few times lately, the discussion has turned toward urban wildlife. In one week, three people had spotted foxes in their neighborhoods and my wife and the chihuahuanator had a pretty funny run-in with a possum. Two days ago, Brian posted a this pic of a fox strolling past his office:

How about you? Any cool or disturbing sitings in your 'hood lately? Please share.

May you have a wild and wonderful weekend!

PS - I am going in search of some native killifish tomorrow to keep the tadpoles company. Woohoo!

Today's Bonus pic: urban flamingo from Pueblo

Leaf, Volt, Tesla S - all from the same owner

It's no secret - I want an electric car. Sure, I have loved gas and diesel cars in my day, and I have checked out veggie oil cars, hydrogen cars, steam cars, wood-burning cars, CNG cars, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

But electric cars sing to my soul, or maybe hum to my soul, or silently appeal to my soul when sitting at a stop-light.

But initial buy-in on electric cars is pretty high, especially for a cheap bastard like me. My last three cars together cost $3150, so, you can see why I have not run out and purchased a brand-new electric car.

But the guy who wrote the following article has lived the dream. He bought a Nissan Leaf, a Chevy Volt, and the Tesla Model S. So, sit back and quietly enjoy the ride with me as we read about the experience of living with all three of these groundbreaking electric vehicles. SIGH

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1087877_from-nissan-leaf-to-tesla-model-s-the-big-electric-car-jump

May your ride be peaceful, powerful, and less destructive than those smelly beasts around you!

ADDED BONUS MATERIAL for you dedicated readers (all 4 of you!):

Here's the under-rated Citicar - if your neighbor has one under a tarp in the garage, please call me!
http://300mpg.org/projects/citicar/