by Ethan Johnson
September 7, 2008

I made time Saturday morning to take an exploratory bike ride down a road that seemed impossible to safely travel upon except by car. Not only is it a high-traffic road, but it's very hilly (for here) and I didn't know if I had the necessary stamina to make the trip successfully. I learned at least two things today: 1) I need 27 inches of daylight (explanation forthcoming), and 2) how to repair a flat tire.

by Ethan Johnson
August 29, 2008

This is a follow up to my recent rant about my route to the gym by bicycle. The thrust of the complaint concerns "having" to take alternate routes to get there rather than bike on the side of the road (without amenities like designated bike lanes or shoulders). Well, I decided the other day to put on the Big Kid Pants™ and try my luck on the scary road. I'm obviously alive to tell the tale.

by Ethan Johnson
August 22, 2008

This article is potentially extremely image intensive, but I am going to compromise and have some inline photos interspersed with hyperlinks to supporting images, okay? Onward.

I have been reading a few cycling blogs lately, and thinking that I should get more serious about bike commuting. Of course, I can hop in the minivan as needed to buy ice cream or other perishable items for speedy transport. But frankly, a trip to the corner bank or the library doesn't involve refrigerated/frozen items, other than my bottle of water. As gas prices rose this year to record levels, I saw more people hauling out the old 10-speed and trying to recapture former glory. It's not that simple when we get older. And, as this article will explain, there are other factors in play that make bike travel a bit daunting. Not impossible, but daunting.

by Ethan Johnson
August 21, 2008

Marlena and I were watching the seven-part miniseries about John Adams a few months ago, and I had a stupidly obvious realization: Lots got done before the advent of electricity. The pyramids were built, aqueducts made, castles constructed, iron forged, wars waged, and so on. I have been wanting to investigate when the notion that UFOs built the pyramids entered the collective consciousness. Off the cuff, I suspect it was after the advent of electricity. Because in these times, it seems that we are collectively convinced that no major undertaking is possible without automation (or other-worldly intervention). Pshaw.

by Ethan Johnson
July 30, 2008

I am jumping the gun a bit here, as I was planning to make mention of my recent municipal rec center membership (super cheap) in a forthcoming "fitness update" article. But that's the scoop: I decided to sign up for the rec center so that I could have year-round fitness opportunities that are not necessarily dictated by the weather. Plus, they have indoor basketball courts. With lines and everything. Score!

by Ethan Johnson
July 21, 2008

I have been clinging to part of the July 6 edition of the Dallas Morning News as it was chock full of Power Plus-related material, most notably a story about wind power in Texas. For the purposes of this installment, I am going to zero in on a sidebar item from the wind power story about the "grid" and peak demand.

by Ethan Johnson
July 11, 2008

Some years ago, I started to notice that HGTV was quietly removing ceiling fans whenever a total room makeover was being performed. I wondered if running the ceiling fans in our house was something of a sucker's bet, as the AC might actually cool the room more efficiently, and who knows what the electrical draw of each fan is, anyway?

by Ethan Johnson
June 29, 2008

[Updated 6/30/2008 - see end of article]

I have been engrossed in the pursuit of learning about energy production and consumption. And as I have mulled about these topics, I have been observing that a good percentage of the energy we US denizens consume seems to be based on the concept of "doing it because we can." Simply put, if you had to generate the necessary electricity to power all of your electric doo-dads "off the grid", you'd be a Luddite inside of a week.