And as we all know, a pump that sucks instead of blows is quite mis-designed.
Then to the facts. Yes, portable foot pumps good. For us Europeans, Sigma Sport (from Germany) has a similiar thing. Basic model costs about 15E. You can also get a deluxe version (alu instead of plastics, gauge) for about 25E.
>...induced by hungry hawks?
Some say there are far too many hawks in both Irsael and Palestina today. (Is this a too daring joke? No bias intended, just a comment on the sad state of the peace process.)
I sometimes react when people say "vehicle" and mean "motor vehicle". However, there are lot of gadgetry for us Human-Power people too:
The Bike Brain connects a Palm to your bike. The computerized bike Behemoth includes a Sun box (and three other PC-class computers) and has probably been on slashdot before. It has HUD, communications, everything and more...
First, apologies if my english is unclear - this is not my mother tongue. I said "mortage" - i mean your yearly capital costs in value lossage and interest for the car ownership.
For clarity: I use to live in a medium-size Swedish university town, about 200.000 citizen.
We still have plenty of local grocery stores, special stores etc, and a nice walkable city centre with cafes and all.
> you cant carry any significant ammounts of groceries
Objection. I can move as much volume by bike as by car, and inside our town the distances aren't big enuhog to warrant a car for me (mostly 10 km). In fact, i have helped friends moving to new location by taking stuff (beds etc) on my bike trailer that wouldn't fit in their car:-).
You asked for my shopping habits. I use to stop on my way home at some of the grocery stores and buy a backpack-load of fresh vegetables, dairy products and other stuff. I if anticipate more, I bring my panniers or the trailer. Works like a charm.
I use my trailer to bring garbage to the recycling station at most once a month. If I would actually need a car (like for moving to another city) I could rent a truck, or hire someone to do it.
I know many ordinary people in the US that use their bike trailer for both kids and cargo, despite a more non-motorized-people-hostile environment, for monthly/weekly shopping. Example:
Ride to supermarket (that happends to allow you to scan bar codes yourself - what is it called?).
Use trailer as shopping cart.
Check out, connect trailer to bike again.
Ride home.
Bring trailer straight into kitchen.
Further possibilities can be found at Bikes at Work. They handles groceries and recycling. You can also have a look at the lovely little SUV. You will be noticed in traffic, but you are a geek, after all;-)?
> You cant even fly in the US without a photo ID
A drivers license is not the only valid photo ID. In Europe the passport counts, and most banks issue ID:s. As a matter of fact, only 30% of 18-year old Swedes do have a driving license. Swedish Car business
Here in Sweden, many people are seriously talking mandatory alcohol-detectors in new cars. It is not an official proposal, but it could be. Given the lot of tragedies caused by drunk drivers, I think this is a good thing. Now, on topic:
When we are installing mandatory gimmicks in cars, it would be a nice time to intergrate a speed countrol system. European railways has got it for years. Traffic lights and speed signs could have transponders, broadcasting their value. A sensor in the car collects this. The unit aboard would not let you run a red light or drive above speed limit if not, perhaps, a sealed "emergency" button was used. This would save many lifes.
This gimmick would probably be produced in large series, and therefore quite cheap. It would have some kind of connection to the rest of the vehicle computers, exporting access to the sensor tru an open and well-defined API. Then you could co-utilize (sp?) this sensor for also detecting coffe or whatever.
Two possible designs:
Sort range communication, with physical devices on signs etc, and signal-to-car and car-to-car communication (the latter for fx. keeping distance. Could be mandatory or just for warning. Also possible to use for thoose inter-car-messages)
Global communication, using GPS and cellular packet radio. This would allow speed limits to just be plotted on the map, no physical electronics needed. It could also be used for non-mandatory jam-avoidance systems. Could have larger privacy risks.
Thoose devices would of cource use the same protocol for the mandatory communication, but it could also be a good time to allow for an (open and modular, of course) common inter-vehicle commonications protocol (ivcp:-) also for the non-mandatory stuff. Should probably leave as much as possible to already established protocols.
Yes, this could be seen as a "limitation of freedom", but driving a car (with all the imposed risks to other people) on the public roads is IMO a privillege, not a right.Perhaps the car, as a transportation system, would be a tad less attractive (but much safer) if it only could move at legal speeds and legal manners. This would also be a way to "avoid the traffic". Ergo.:-)
Can we, geeks of all arts and kinds, really stand thoose gaping security holes in TrafficOS, that allow the script kiddies of our traffic network people to break in and gain unauthorized privilleges? Is is time for some serious security audit of Traffic, for firewalls and sound secure design!
Well, I think that you could include time to make money for your trip expenses too:
How much do you pay for mortages, fuel, insurance, parking, repairs etc for your car? (sometimes also including obesity-related medical expenses) What will that be per kilometer?... for your trip to work? How large are your hourly wages? Then, how many minutes of your work is actually used for your car commute?
To paraphrase... "drive to work, work to drive"...
In this regard, a bike or bike/public transport combo can in many cases have a superior speed, even during uncongested conditions.
This isn't a particulary impressive total unless you use your car to commute 5 miles into work, and then go shopping at the local store.
When we talk about commuting and shopping, which even SUVs and other gas guzzlers are mostly used for, there is a extremly elegant vehicle design that uses a kind of engergy that is instantly availible almost otherwhere, and when not used instead can be harmful, even fatal for the owner of it.
Post-WW2 America, and many cities in Europe too are often hostile to this in many cases economically, ecologically and space-usage superior vehicle.
Slashdot Mirror
And as we all know, a pump that sucks instead of blows is quite mis-designed.
Then to the facts. Yes, portable foot pumps good. For us Europeans, Sigma Sport (from Germany) has a similiar thing. Basic model costs about 15E. You can also get a deluxe version (alu instead of plastics, gauge) for about 25E.
> ...induced by hungry hawks?
Some say there are far too many hawks in both Irsael and Palestina today. (Is this a too daring joke? No bias intended, just a comment on the sad state of the peace process.)
The Bike Brain connects a Palm to your bike. The computerized bike Behemoth includes a Sun box (and three other PC-class computers) and has probably been on slashdot before. It has HUD, communications, everything and more ...
For clarity: I use to live in a medium-size Swedish university town, about 200.000 citizen. We still have plenty of local grocery stores, special stores etc, and a nice walkable city centre with cafes and all.
> you cant carry any significant ammounts of groceries
Objection. I can move as much volume by bike as by car, and inside our town the distances aren't big enuhog to warrant a car for me (mostly 10 km). In fact, i have helped friends moving to new location by taking stuff (beds etc) on my bike trailer that wouldn't fit in their car :-).
You asked for my shopping habits. I use to stop on my way home at some of the grocery stores and buy a backpack-load of fresh vegetables, dairy products and other stuff. I if anticipate more, I bring my panniers or the trailer. Works like a charm.
I use my trailer to bring garbage to the recycling station at most once a month. If I would actually need a car (like for moving to another city) I could rent a truck, or hire someone to do it.
I know many ordinary people in the US that use their bike trailer for both kids and cargo, despite a more non-motorized-people-hostile environment, for monthly/weekly shopping. Example:
Further possibilities can be found at Bikes at Work. They handles groceries and recycling. You can also have a look at the lovely little SUV. You will be noticed in traffic, but you are a geek, after all ;-)?
> You cant even fly in the US without a photo ID
A drivers license is not the only valid photo ID. In Europe the passport counts, and most banks issue ID:s. As a matter of fact, only 30% of 18-year old Swedes do have a driving license. Swedish Car business
Hope this is informative!
When we are installing mandatory gimmicks in cars, it would be a nice time to intergrate a speed countrol system. European railways has got it for years. Traffic lights and speed signs could have transponders, broadcasting their value. A sensor in the car collects this. The unit aboard would not let you run a red light or drive above speed limit if not, perhaps, a sealed "emergency" button was used. This would save many lifes.
This gimmick would probably be produced in large series, and therefore quite cheap. It would have some kind of connection to the rest of the vehicle computers, exporting access to the sensor tru an open and well-defined API. Then you could co-utilize (sp?) this sensor for also detecting coffe or whatever.
Two possible designs:
Sort range communication, with physical devices on signs etc, and signal-to-car and car-to-car communication (the latter for fx. keeping distance. Could be mandatory or just for warning. Also possible to use for thoose inter-car-messages)
Global communication, using GPS and cellular packet radio. This would allow speed limits to just be plotted on the map, no physical electronics needed. It could also be used for non-mandatory jam-avoidance systems. Could have larger privacy risks.
Thoose devices would of cource use the same protocol for the mandatory communication, but it could also be a good time to allow for an (open and modular, of course) common inter-vehicle commonications protocol (ivcp :-) also for the non-mandatory stuff. Should probably leave as much as possible to already established protocols.
Yes, this could be seen as a "limitation of freedom", but driving a car (with all the imposed risks to other people) on the public roads is IMO a privillege, not a right.Perhaps the car, as a transportation system, would be a tad less attractive (but much safer) if it only could move at legal speeds and legal manners. This would also be a way to "avoid the traffic". Ergo. :-)
Can we, geeks of all arts and kinds, really stand thoose gaping security holes in TrafficOS, that allow the script kiddies of our traffic network people to break in and gain unauthorized privilleges? Is is time for some serious security audit of Traffic, for firewalls and sound secure design!
How much do you pay for mortages, fuel, insurance, parking, repairs etc for your car? (sometimes also including obesity-related medical expenses) What will that be per kilometer? ... for your trip to work? How large are your hourly wages? Then, how many minutes of your work is actually used for your car commute?
To paraphrase ... "drive to work, work to drive" ...
In this regard, a bike or bike/public transport combo can in many cases have a superior speed, even during uncongested conditions.
References: Auto Costs Versus Bike Costs
This isn't a particulary impressive total unless you use your car to commute 5 miles into work, and then go shopping at the local store.
:-) ?
When we talk about commuting and shopping, which even SUVs and other gas guzzlers are mostly used for, there is a extremly elegant vehicle design that uses a kind of engergy that is instantly availible almost otherwhere, and when not used instead can be harmful, even fatal for the owner of it.
Post-WW2 America, and many cities in Europe too are often hostile to this in many cases economically, ecologically and space-usage superior vehicle.
Can you guess it's name