Bike payoff calculator!!!

Ok, so I've been thinking about the pros and cons to buying a road bike to commute to work. I decided it would be fun to set up an equation to weigh the cost of a bike against the cost of gasoline needed to drive. I have been struggling to find a simple type of interactive spreadsheet to embed in a website so that a reader can manipulate the numbers like mileage and price of a bike to determine a payoff for herself...well, this is the best I found (www.instacalc.com). Enjoy switching up the numbers--it is pretty user friendly. Note: the double-slash (//) denotes text; I recommend only changing the miles to work, mpg, gas price, and bike price...




My formula can be written simply as this: (B(((X/25)*10)*G))/4, where X is the number of miles commuting one way during the work week, G is the price of gasoline, and B is price of your dream bike!!!

Some other considerations: you can increase commuting mileage by including trips to a restaurant or grocery store to which you might alternatively bike; also, within a year's time from now, gas prices will probably rise above $3. Both of these changes will result in a decreased payoff time...

Rebate debate

I visited SimplyLiving.net to get motivated to live simply and found this link to the "Don't Buy It" protest against the upcoming rebates to be issued as an effort to stimulate our economy. The arguments presented are compelling...[click banner to link to the webpage!]



I was impressed that the website offered html codes (like the one used to produce the linked banner above) for people to post on their websites and blogs--this is a terrific way to disperse information. As the blog-osphere expands, I'm sure we'll see more techno-activism like this.

Ode to Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Freshness

I was taking a shower tonight and enjoying my invigorating, eucalyptus-scented, liquid soap by Dr. Bronner's when I decided that I would dedicate a blog entry to this wonderful "all-one" wash. Dr. B's six liquid soaps are made of organic coconut oil & organic olive oil (with retained glycerin), organic hemp oil, organic jojoba oil, cage-free water, citric acid, and the organic essential oil of your preference. Supposedly, the soap can be used as a shampoo, body wash, dish soap,laundry detergent, and toothpaste. In addition to all this goodness, I found that some Bronner-friendly stores (like Clintonville Community Market) offer 5 gallon tubs with push-pumps to refill empty Dr. Bronner's bottles, thereby reducing waste! In fact, the bottle I am using has been refilled twice since I bought the peppermint soap senior year of high school--but only twice, which could be attributed to its hyper-concentrated strength, or my lower-than-average shower participation [Note to self: write blog about our hyper-sterile-obsessed society]. The eucalyptus is a bit overpowering--a scent akin to Vick's VapoRub--but I am really enjoying it. Dr. Bronner's story (the abridged version, as stated in 4 paragraphs on the company's website) is pretty exciting: evading Nazis as a Jew in Germany and rebelling against manufacturers of synthetic surfactant formulations...
Ok, bedtime. Gotta take Alden out for the fifth time this hour. Peace and soapy suds

Pupster

--Edit: "Meet Alden Paczki, born November 22 (Thanksgiving Day), 2007 and destined for greatness. "Paczki" (pronounced "ponchky") is a type of Polish donut--C and I learned about these on the CBS Sunday morning show the day we adopted little Alden. This was the name we almost settled on, but couldn't stop laughing everytime we used it--so we decided to find a more serious name for him. Alden means "old friend," and we know he will live a long and joyful life with us and always be a friend.--

C and I are trying to be patient with puppy training, but it's rough. Actually, the first 3 days were smooth, with minimal accidents inside and mostly gentle play. We're trying to learn all we can to teach him how to be an obedient dog. I also hope that puppy socialization will help "Aldo" learn how to play well with others.

Captain Planet

I'm applying to participate in the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist program (OCVN), which provides 40 hours of educational sessions covering various topics in natural history and environmental education (to say the least), to be followed by 40 hours of volunteer work. I'm not sure where, exactly, this certification can take me, but I have high hopes that it will be very beneficial and afford me more experience in the environmental field.

In the application, one question asked me to define my naturalist philosophy. I haven't studied naturalist philosophies, and so I'm not sure what limits might exist. I've never set out to construct such a definition for myself, but I was pleased with my quick and concise answer which I see as a foundation I might build upon later.

What is your naturalist philosophy?
[Response:] "To narrow down my "naturalist philosophy", I would say that I believe the human and non-human communities must be co-dependent. This means that humans cannot expect "nature" to exist as a human-less landscape; instead, humans must learn how to develop benign technologies and live well in harmony with the environment. This involves an increased understanding of the non-human world--biology, geology, etc (through education)--which will increase an appreciation and care for it."

I would add that by losing such co-dependence, humans will lose the benefits offered by connection with the non-human world--the most important of which might include health and sanity! That's a lofty and over-generalized statement, I suppose. But if you think about the holistic benefits found in "nature," and consider the timetable of Earth and evolution of humans, it only makes sense that our industrial revolution is depleting the non-human world and our connection to it in an unprecedented way. We cannot rely on substitutes like multi-vitamins, air-purifying machines, and sunlight-spectrum light bulbs.

Also, consider this tangent: as natural resources are depleted, costs will rise. The first to be robbed of them will be low-income families. It's no stretch to suggest that the inner-city Poor of the developed world have lost such a connection.

"Yes, We Can."

Ch-ch-check it out: "Yes We Can" Video

I'm not really sure, but I expect this hot little gem is probably spreading like wildfire across the country right now. It is reminiscent of that "Give Peace A Chance" collaboration back during the Gulf War, but a lot less cheesy. In fact, it gave me tingles in my spine each of the three times I watched it this morning. Maybe I just have a man-crush on Common... and Bar-ama. For first-time viewers, be warned: some actors and actresses were trying a little too hard to look emotionally overburdened. Anyways, I know it's not true, but try to imagine that the bald guitar player is Scott Ian of Anthrax--that will certainly put a smile on even a Clinton supporter. I mean, they even found Ashley from The Fresh Prince of Belaire. Scarlett Johansson and Nicole Scherzinger are acting like they've never been in front of a camera before. And that one lady with the hair looks like she's about to throw up. Common is looking like he's tryin hard to stay cool, like, "You better vote for Obama, muh'fucka."

Damn--now that is good music, f'reals. Can I get a' "amen"?

One love. Peace out.