tagged ecologic
After years of talking about it, therapy clothing, the sustainable, green fashion boutique in Austin, now sells a selection of products on-line. My favorite, Loomstate organic denim & cotton are some the comfiest clothes I own.
Read the rest of this entryI just attended the world premier screening of the cutting new documentary OilCrash at the Austin Convention Center.
Tagged Official Selection for the SXSW Film Festival, this timely, brazenly honest tale of our world's petroleum addiction touches everyone who sees it.
So, go get smacked over the head with the knowledge. There are two more screenings this week. See the trailer & schedule of showtimes.
For post-screening affected Austin locals, Crude Awakening is a community "dedicated to learning about the coming worldwide oil production peak, its timing, potential consequences and the preparations needed to reduce its impact." They host monthly meetings in sync with United Oil Awareness Meetup Day.
I've had a full week of fluid city practice on my SV650s. The machine is running beautifully. I'm figuring it out, always eager to learn from the experience.
I just got back from a neighborhood ride. Besides getting my moto-buzz on, I practiced stopping:
- Feeling out the back brake alone in stops, for it's relationship to overall stopping power.
- Finding balance between front & back brake pressure in a hard stop.
- Learning how to maintain balance and get a grip back if traction drops in a stop.
The reflexes that make me quick & nimble on my bicycle must be tuned for the 520-lb creature that is me on Suki. On the bicycle, I can crank down on the brakes and stop fast. But if I unleash those same reflexes on Suki's brakes, I slide. Grace on the brakes. This is a whole different way to move. A sensitive, powerful extension of my human form. Constantly learning to release tension, to accept & understand the cycle's connection to the ground and myself. I think this calls for a yoga class tomorrow night, which I know will help me center and release.
There is a delicate edge on a motorcycle. No doubt. My bicycle feels completely different now; I definitely squish its suspension around more than I used to, and I come to stops, dropping my feet swiftly to balance, as if my bicycle would fall over!
So, the motorcycle has taken over!
Her Name is Suki, with a boyish scar upon her right cheek bone.
Most of the conscious energy that I have remaining from programming Ruby on Rails & general life-n-love, I've been pouring into my new obsession: a motorcycle (a 2006 Suzuki SV650S, to be exact.)
Paraphrasing a poignant paraphrasing of Bill Maher, in the exceedingly well-done documentary Oil on Ice:
The freedom of our cars also makes us slaves to an increasingly complex system that:
- fuels our "enemies" (Brand America is Dying)
- corrupts politics
- damages human health
- destroys our environment (global warming & long-term spill effects)
Fortunately, we have alternatives: If just a few percent of all cars on the road were as efficient as the best hybrids today, we would save as much oil as is in the hotly debated Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
I usually to eat fish less than twice a week (it is the only type of flesh I consume at all) and tend to be picky about the source & species of the fish. Too much bad-business & ecological harm is masked by the consumer-driven/petroleum-sustained market, including: carcinogenic farm-raised salmon, mercury poisoning in big fish & general overfishing.
For lunch today, at one of my favorite local restaurants, I decided to enjoy a special dish: a steak of fresh wild Alaskan coho salmon.
Read the rest of this entryI am now one step closer to bicycle independence:
Today, I serendipitously acquired a used Yakima Big Tow bicycle trailer from a mechanic at Jack & Adams, an Austin local bicycle shop right next to Zilker Park.
This previously-owned Big Tow did not come with the waterproof cargo bag; crafting ways to secure and weatherproof (when needed) my cargo will be an immediate project.
This bike trailer finally lets me move our 5-gallon refillable water containers (for purified drinking water) without a petrol-powered car.
Certainly many uses will arise and instill confidence in me toward the impending sale of my car. Anybody want to buy an excellent condition 2001 Mistubishi Montero Sport Limited?
Our mode of transportation for the previously mentioned trip to the Frio River was a Toyota Prius. We took the entire trip on less than one tank of gasoline, traveling over 400-miles with just over 9-gallons of standard unleaded gasoline, including local driving near the river and our camp site.
When investing in solar panels for an off-the-grid 24VDC electrical system, the lifetime of the different types of solar cells is a central consideration for max sustainability.
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