Comments Icelander has made

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$50 (26£) for ONE pair of boxers?!? They might be great underwear, but unless they make me look like that model I'll stick with my good ol' Old Navy cotton boxers, thankyouverymuch.

These aren't going to make a dent until your average Joe Sixpack can run down to Wal*Mart and pick up ten for $10.On White pine underthings more natural than they sound posted 1 year, 9 months ago 13 Responses

Irony

The post-video commercial on my video was for the full-size Toyota Tundra, and was playing up how much more powerful it was than other trucks in its class.

If that's not ironic, I don't know what is.On 7 easy steps to reduce your carbon emissions posted 2 years ago 13 Responses

Two problems

1. I live in the city and have to park on the street, meaning I don't have a reliable parking space. And I don't think the cops will like me stringing an extension cord up and down my block.

2. With all the reports of defective and dangerous stuff coming out of China these days, who wants to buy a car with batteries that have been known to burst into flames?

Women versus Girls

"Does it bother anyone else that the article's title refers to women in their thirties as 'girls'?"

I'd refer to any woman who acted that way as a "girl." And I'm only 25.

Though I'm not dating anymore, I'd rather have a woman who is adventurous and wants to try new things than someone who sticks with something boring and bland. (Most steaks in restaurants are from factory farms and taste like, well, nothing.)

I'm glad I'm not dating these days, since the idea of being genuine is so old fashioned. It seems more like peacocks strutting around trying to impress each other than people trying to get to know someone.On NYT dating advice: Eat more flesh posted 2 years, 3 months ago 24 Responses

Another Statistic

Southern states as a whole receive more federal money than they pay as taxes, according to this report: http://preview.tinyurl.com/yuwe6jOn It's dirty and fat, but ... charming! posted 2 years, 4 months ago 4 Responses

Sweat

I'm just wondering what all you bike owners do about sweat. I sweat like a freak. If my house is 72 degrees I can work up a sweat doing housework. I shovel snow in jeans and a t-shirt.

Combine my freakish sweating with the 70-degree-plus dewpoints in the summer and any trip on a bike of any distance would require a shower afterwards.

So what do you bicyclists do to keep from looking like you just came from the gym when you arrive anywhere?On Alan Durning on whether biking is for children and for losers posted 2 years, 4 months ago 26 Responses

I'm a 92

First time home buyer, got a 1250 square foot house for around $120k in a great neighborhood.

The key is to not look in a big city and find someplace near a college or university.On Walkable town centers are hip posted 2 years, 4 months ago 45 Responses

I've got no problem with the cutesy videos

Part of the reason so few people are involved with politics is that it's considered dull. Cutesy videos and jokes on stage (Like when Biden said the thing he liked most about Kucinich was his wife) get people interested in the process. This is the first debate my wife, who hates politics, watched and she said she enjoyed it a lot.

The snowman video gave a face to an otherwise amorphous problem, and elicited a great answer. It's this sort of thing that we're going to see more of, and I think it's wonderful.On Lots of good answers posted 2 years, 4 months ago 13 Responses

No side yard

I'm actually in a row home, and there's absolutely no way to get a truck into my backyard without taking out at least three of the neighbors' fences.

It would be really great if they could find a way of doing it from inside my basement.On Consumers are stingy about buying new energy-efficient appliances posted 2 years, 4 months ago 14 Responses

The Trouble with Old Houses

[earth-coupled heat pumps] are maybe 50% more expensive up front

Do you know if this is for new installations or existing installations? I'd like to get an earth-coupled heat pump, but I live in the city and I don't have a huge yard, and if they're going to have to tear up the whole yard to put it in it won't be worth my trouble. Not only would I have to pay for the system, but I'd also have to re-landscape my yard and re-build my deck when they were done. And in the meantime, where would my dog go to the bathroom?

Anything that lowers my heating and cooling bills (which are already half the local average) is a good thing. I've only got single-pane windows and no insulation between my double-brick walls. But it won't be worth it if I not only have to pay for the system and installation, but also to have an entirely new backyard put in.On Consumers are stingy about buying new energy-efficient appliances posted 2 years, 4 months ago 14 Responses

War stories

Stories like this turn me off completely to the possibility of biking anywhere. If it's going to be this much of a hassle to bike, I'll just take my scooter or my car or walk.On Bike racks in rain, smokers under cover posted 2 years, 7 months ago 14 Responses

Some of the problems

A lot of these mapping companies get their data from other companies like NavTeq (who dropped their "Bicycle Access" information a while ago). Also, there is little data available regarding traffic conditions on certain routes. Sure, a road could be technically bicycle- or pedestrian-friendly, but traffic along that road could make it hazardous. And it today's litigious society, if someone's killed going along a supposedly "bicycle-friendly" route, the mapping company is going to be one of the first against the wall.

Also, what some people consider a safe route others would consider a death trap. And what some people would consider an easy route others would consider too difficult. In short, bicycles are not the type of vehicles for which hard-and-fast data can be acquired.On Will Google Maps or Mapquest be the first to help folks travel green? posted 2 years, 7 months ago 16 Responses

The funny thing about noise...

A week ago Saturday my neighbors had a party. We heard them coming in and out of their front door and talking loudly and playing video games. A year ago, when we had first moved in, we wouldn't have been able to sleep with such ruckus.

But now that we've been living here, we slept like babies through the whole thing.

And as for crime: Yeah, we've had some problems. But my neighbors have consistently shown that they're alert and willing to call the cops or bike squad or campus police whenever something odd is going on. Whenever we hear a loud noise or kids yelling, you can expect three or four adults to pop their heads outside to see what's going on.

Not to mention that we're near a very expensive college and the city pays for a bike squad to patrol 24/7.On From a former homeowner posted 2 years, 8 months ago 8 Responses

I encountered the same thing in the city

The greatest example I can think of came while my neighbors and I were digging out from the Valentine's Day storm. Everyone was outside digging out their cars. As people tried to leave, every able-bodied person got behind them to help push.

This includes programmers, insurance agents, truck drivers, waiters, bakers, college students, and even a teacher at the local seminary.

And it was done without asking for help. We just self-organized. It made me feel like I lived in a community, something I never knew I missed growing up in the suburbs.On From a former homeowner posted 2 years, 8 months ago 8 Responses

Electoral Reform

If Nader wants viable third parties, he should be working for electoral reform. In our current winner-takes-all system, a third party, on either side, simply weakens the party closest to its ideology.

If Nader wants to effect national politics, he should pick a Democratic candidate and throw his support and the support of the Green party behind that person. In primaries, especially in New Hampshire and Iowa, a small group of vocal proponents can make or break a candidate.

Besides, Dems are still angry about 2000. Nader doesn't stand a chance.On Friggin' Nader posted 2 years, 9 months ago 26 Responses

The only thing in the middle of the road...

Is a thick yellow line.On He understands you ... and you too posted 2 years, 11 months ago 3 Responses

How about this:

Caring, Thinking, and Acting.On Vote! posted 3 years, 1 month ago 26 Responses

A few more reasons

Sweat.

This isn't an issue for those lucky few whose employers have showers available for them, but most Americans don't. And most Americans don't want to take the time to shower once they've gotten to work.

Then you've got the problem of sweaty errand running and/or errand running in those rediculous bicycle outfits. (Yes, they're rediculous, admit it.) I don't want to walk the mile to the grocery store or to work when there's a 100+ degree heat index, let alone bike that distance trying to keep up with traffic. And when I get there, I'd like to not look and smell like I just ran a marathon in hot pants.

And then you've got the inevitable "My little Brent or Ashley might get a boo boo at school and I'll have to get out to the suburbs to pick them up! How will I do that on a bike?!?"

And, finally, you've got the technology. A good commuter bike is over $700. That's too much of a leap for someone who isn't sure if they'd like it. I'm sure a lot of people, my wife included, are intimidated by having all those gears. She's never sure which one she should be using. (An automatic bicycle would solve this problem.) And then there's the maintenance involved to keep it in running condition. Most people just put gas in their cars. A bike needs its chain lubed, its brakes adjusted, its wheels checked. The investment in time isn't worth the savings.

And the last bike that a lot of people had was one of those banana seat ones, and their butts are probably still sore from it.On Bicycling highs posted 3 years, 3 months ago 22 Responses

Insult to Injury

They're also pushing their most flex-fuel guzzling vehicles the hardest. This is because the EPA assumes they'll be running on E85 half the time, meaning the Chevy Tahoe gets 33.3 miles per gallon of gas, when in reality it gets about 17 miles per gallon of E85.On Big Three Automakers shun hybrids for flex-fuel hoo-hah posted 3 years, 5 months ago 2 Responses

Okay...

So he uses electrolysis at the point of generation to create hydrogen and oxygen, then burns it to create water.

Is there something I'm missing?On Water power posted 3 years, 5 months ago 7 Responses

Blacklisted

I've been blacklisted from GM's Fastlane and FYI blogs for pointing these things out.

I take it as a compliment.On Deactivated cylinders posted 3 years, 5 months ago 5 Responses

One more thing

On the banner graphic at the top of the page, they have an SUV burning gasoline and a Prius burning E85, but the Prius can't do it.

And if I read anymore of that buzzword-riddled text, I'm going to scream.On Kick the Oil Habit posted 3 years, 6 months ago 8 Responses

More Proof

This is just more proof that the ethanol pie-in-the-sky, while it may rid us of foreign oil addiction, is more about a giveaway to big agribusiness and GM than about providing a sustainable energy solution.On Big Ethanol ... posted 3 years, 6 months ago 1 Response

True Cost Economics

One of the major flaws with capitalism is externalities. Adam Smith noted this in The Wealth of Nations. You're paying the price of the labor and resources used to make a good or service, but not for the effect of making or consuming that good or service. This makes finding efficiencies difficult.

TerraPass and other programs solve this problem by providing an economic metric for one part of the externalities of owning an automobile.

Ideally, external costs would be included in the price of any product or service, and would be regulated by a third party.On Carbon offsets and guilt posted 3 years, 6 months ago 3 Responses

New Energy Sources?

What's this obsession with new energy sources? Why not just use less? What a concept.On A third party? posted 3 years, 6 months ago 14 Responses

Here's an idea

Set CAFE standards at 35mpg. Give someone a $250 tax credit per mpg over the CAFE standard. Add a $250 tax per mpg under the CAFE standard. Then raise CAFE standards 1mpg per year from here to infinity. If it runs pure electric or hydrogen, make the tax credit $5000.

End result: People are encouraged to buy fuel efficient cars regardless of their configuration. If GM can make a Suburban that gets 55mpg, great.

And stop this idiocy about "people need trucks for work." Aren't they capable of buying something that gets better mileage?On Gas price rant posted 3 years, 7 months ago 36 Responses

Thank you

I'm glad someone has the balls to say this. On almost every liberal blog I visit, they're screaming for the heads of CEOs and claiming that I, voicing the same argument, "don't care about poor and middle class Americans" who "can't move."

My retort? They either move now or move later. We either hurt a little now or hurt a lot later.On Gas prices posted 3 years, 7 months ago 28 Responses

Solution

I think the solution to the nuclear power cost question is to remove profit from it, and have it run by a non-profit, quasi-governmental corporation.

Efficiency, however, is the best way to solve most of our fossil fuel problems.On Kevin Drum blows it by repeating the conventional wisdom posted 3 years, 7 months ago 26 Responses

My Burley Score

575. Unfortunately, 124 of them are attorneys.On What's your Burley score? posted 3 years, 7 months ago 3 Responses

What?

Most people think they don't mind the commute. Until it gets taken away. I used to drive an hour to work. Now it's a 15 minute walk through a park. You'd have to drag me kicking and screaming back out to the 'burbs.On Speaking of new urbanism posted 3 years, 8 months ago 3 Responses

Why "New" Urbanism?

What's the obsession with "new" urbanism? Why not "old" urbanism, also known as "urban renewal?" Seems awfully wasteful to build new communities when there are plenty out there that need revitalization.

And I can't be the only one who thinks "privacy" and "space" aren't all they're cracked up to be. I mean, who wants to mow a huge freaking lawn?

I'll just hope my city gets a trolley. A real one.On Casinos and high-rises battle trolleys and bike lanes for the Gulf Coast future posted 3 years, 8 months ago 7 Responses

Water Storage

There are two issues with water storage. First, there aren't many big hills in the Midwest. Second, you have to have a lot of water. Otherwise, it's a great system.On Wind will save the ruralites posted 3 years, 8 months ago 3 Responses

Does this mean...

Does this mean I can sue the cops if I knock over a liquor store, because they didn't stop me?On Coal companies sue feds for letting them slack on safety posted 3 years, 9 months ago 6 Responses

I've found a happy medium

I live in Lancaster, PA, what I think is the best little city in the world. We've got a great downtown with lots of independent shops, lots of entertainment and culture and even a minor league baseball team, all within walking distance of my house. And we've got pretty good public transportation. There's even an excellent farmer's market downtown. A lot of the food, particularly in the summer, is grown locally on the farms that surround our city, many of which are Amish and therefore grown with very little fossil fuels. We're also going to join a local farming co-op that employs developmentally disabled individuals.

It's safe, relatively spacious (my 1200 sq. ft. townhome is as large as my parent's house) and there's plenty of nice neighbors. I walk to work, and soon my wife will, too. We also live within walking distance of an Amtrak station that provides regular commuter service to Philadelphia and Harrisburg, meaning that I could find a job in either of these cities and commute via train. (Which, as all good treehuggers know, is more efficient than a car. And with a monthly Amtrak pass, a great deal cheaper.)

As for energy efficiency, we're spending less on heat (natural gas), hot water, and electricity than we did while we were living in an apartment in college. And that was four years ago! Having neighbors on both sides and mature trees around our home makes heating and cooling our home much easier. We're even blessed with a large, flat area with plenty of southern exposure on our roof that I hope will one day hold solar collectors for electricity or hot water.

The only things I'd change are making parking easier and adding bike lanes to the major streets to make commuting by bike easier and safer.On Only concrete alternatives will cajole people out of the suburbs posted 3 years, 10 months ago 4 Responses

Change

We'll need to make fuels from renewable sources, that's something everyone can agree on. The folks who think that biodiesel and ethanol will solve all our problems (and I used to be one of them) are assuming we can maintain a lifestyle similar to the one we have now, with suburban McMansions and empty cities. To put it bluntly; they're afraid of change.

Since I've moved into the city, I've become less of a biofuels nut. Sure, it woudl be great if my car ran on vegetable oil, but it would be even better if I didn't need a car at all.

We're not addicted to oil. We're addicted to our cars.On Some environmentalists wake up to the dangers of biofuels posted 3 years, 11 months ago 10 Responses

Don't sell your lifestyle?!?

My wife and I are looking for a home. If I walked into a house and saw CF bulbs in all the fixtures I'd know that the home was taken care of by someone thoughtful, and that there are probably more energy-saving features in the house. I'd rather buy a house that had CF bulbs. How can anyone tell the difference?

If I were selling the house, I'd tell the real estate agent "I'm not planning on taking the bulbs. They're a feature, put it in the listing notes." I'd have to replace the bulbs in the house I move into anyway, why not encourage the buyers to keep the CF bulbs I put in?On Personal energy conservation in Houston posted 4 years, 1 month ago 4 Responses

This one could work.

This isn't "don't buy gas at all." It's "don't buy gas from them." That sort of thing can start a price war. Heck, we already have people driving 10 miles to save 3¢ on a gallon of gas. How hard could it be to get them to avoid Exxon and Mobil stations?On The latest solution to pumped-up prices posted 4 years, 3 months ago 11 Responses

Gas Stations

I'm not going to contend that advances in battery technology could make hydrogen fuel cells obsolete. But I can contend that the functional lifespan of a set of batteries could be significantly less than that of a hydrogen fuel cell and the storage system. The quick-charge Li-Ion battery in my Powerbook is already down to about 50% of its original charge life and it's barely a year old.

And why store thousands of gallons of hydrogen gas on the premises when you can make it simply with electricity and water? Have a small tank of hydrogen that is constantly replenished via electrolytic production. Heck, you could have solar panels and a well and create a perfectly self-contained gas station.

The same safety concerns were voiced when it was perceived that gasoline engines would be the default engine for automobiles. Gasoline is highly flammable, leaks from underground tanks, and can be used to make a bomb. Hydrogen isn't an more dangerous than gasoline.On Should nuclear fusion be considered a green energy source? posted 4 years, 4 months ago 10 Responses