progress is slow.....

With global warming becoming a reality I have been thinking of moving to another country that is more supportive of cycling and transit. The answer of course would be somewhere in Europe. Here's where it gets a little sloppy though: even though places such as Germany and the Netherlands are very cycling friendly, they are also nearly 5000km away from Cleveland. Jet travel will inevitably get more expensive and I may not have the opportunity to visit my family if I live over there. Over the past few days I have been obsessing over this. Questions always pop up in my head about where I would like to be five years from now.
I guess my consensus now is that I am probably going to stay around the midwest area. I like my family and the community here. I might not stay in Ohio. They are way too conservative here and ODOT is not my friend. Maybe I will move some place that has more of a "village" feel. Here are my criteria for finding a city in which I would like to live: it must have groceries, library and work within 10mi of my home. It must have public transportation. It should have some type of cycling culture (at least 5% modal share is probably the highest number one could hope to reach over here) and it should have some type of nightlife scene and outdoor activities. The place should also have a low crime rate. Maybe college towns will fit the bill. My job is pretty portable, I can work anywhere there is a hospital, which is everywhere.
I am always looking for a transformation in how our nation is responding to the rising need of cycling, walking and transit and progress is always slow and depressing. It seems everyone in America is still fixated on driving everywhere because that is all they know. Every now and then there is a ray of hope. I like reading planetizen because it shares my point of view, but there is little interest in my views in the regular news.

No more paper!!!!!!!

About a month ago I got a Tablet PC with the notion of using it for my online classes. So far its been great to read off of and write notes. All my class notes are in PDF so I use PDF annotator to add comments to it, just as I would a regular sheet of paper. By the end of this class it will save me time (not having to print everything out) and money (not having to buy ink) and I feel really good about not having to use any more paper. I also feel more organized with this system because all the PDFs are already named for me and I dont have to punch and bind all those papers. Why aren't more people doing this? Maybe all the teachers should provide students with the option of using electronic documents for handouts and assinments. Unorganized paper spreads across my desk like the plague!

What I'm doing with my life.

I have been exercising more recently. I am still riding my bicycle and walking my dog, but I have also started to take yoga and pilates classes at a nearby gym. What really makes this such a great deal is that my dad and mom are both doing it, so I am motivated to go as well. As far as food goes I haven't been eating very healthy food. Most of my meals are meat and potatoes with a side of ice cream. Cholesterol city. I tried to become a vegeterian about a year ago because of the health benefits and for the environmental benefits but fell of the wagon because my parents werent into it, and they usually cook dinner. Oh well.

Anybody's Workout Plan

I am going to start doing some strength training exercises for my abs and lower back every morning. Most of what I have learned about exercising has come from my high school weight training gym class such as how to do proper crunches, push ups and so fourth. Starting up an exercise regimen can be very confusing and is foreign to many people. Many people will read countless books or buy expensive equipment to try and figure out what it is they are supposed to do. I have found the best way to get back into exercising is to take some classes at a gym, rec center or YMCA. Making time for strength training classes is the hardest part because of the travel time to and from a gym, but once you learn the routines they are easily duplicated at home. Once familiar with the workout routines, you can pick and choose areas to work on and make your own chart. Expensive, bulky machines are usually not necessary as most strength exercises can be performed using dumbells and free weights and a comfortable mat. Used weight sets are easy to come by and so obtaining fitness equipment is cheap. Of course this post only focuses on strength training because if you ride your bicycle places you already have your cardio taken care of ;).

Auto Industry

Its funny to me, the fact that our the big three automakers are struggling to make ends meet. There is the Chevy Volt, another empty promise. I remember reading one of those science magazines back in the 90s promising we would have electric cars on the road by the year 1997. The automakers are choking themselves because of their stubborness to not improve fuel efficiency and affordability. Instead of offering people cheap, fuel efficient cars they tell us we should be driving light trucks. Fuel efficiency is not high tech or new, a Geo metro from the 90's could get 50mpg. Tata motors of India is now manufacturing a vehicle that costs $2000 and gets 50mpg. There is no American automobile that can compete with the Tata. But what about hybrids? Hybrids get 50mpg. The problem comes with a steep price tag of about $20k. Most people will never even break even on their investment, even at $4/gal. It is not economical to buy a $20k car when anyone can buy a $10k car that goes 32mpg. I guess what Im trying to say in this post is many people want affordable and efficient cars and the industry is not responding to that demand. If the industry dies thats their own problem, because free market means you either win, or you die. Its called natural selection.

Eye Candy

So I was checking out a Popular Science magazine a few days ago and I came across an article called "The Green Megacity".  One of the things that struck me was the absence of a bicycle in their futuretropolis, I guess they arent technological enough /sarcasm.  Something really did catch my eye however, and this was the SkyTran by Unimodal.  SkyTran is an awesome concept with one major problem: no working prototype.   SkyTran is a PRT or "Personal Rapid Transit".  Basically PRT is a low capacity vehicle on elevated guiderails that is computer controlled.  I hope within my lifetime I can see PRT systems come into reality.  PRT systems are efficient because they are powered by electricity and they save space because they are elevated and do not need parking spaces.  It is these advantages which make PRT suitable for dense urban areas.  Since tracks are elevated there will be no conflicts with pedestrians and cyclists making cities safer and more welcoming.  The full benefit of a PRT system will be realized in a car-free metropolis, freeing up street space for the people and not the vehicle.  This is the future I want to see.  Skytran isnt the only PRT system, it just looks the coolest.  Check out the other ones in the Wikipedia entry!
Here are some links for you to enjoy:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_rapid_transit
  
• http://www.popsci.com/futurecity/plan.html   (pie in the sky)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njdfz75P65U

People surprise me sometimes. It surprises me that driving has dropped 3.7% over the past year because this is the first time I have ever seen a decrease. Americans are actually being serious about *gasp* not driving their cars everywhere. The majority of Americans already spend upwards of $5000/yr on car ownership and it keeps climbing. With each dollar increase people are letting go of their car-driven lifestyles and moving to a more car-lite one. Our transportation policy needs to reflect the change. We need to stop building new highways and start taking care of our old ones. We need to start putting more money into our transit agencies and Amtrak. Why are will still funding our dying airlines so earnestly when we could be building high speed rail? Why are we making it so hard for people to change? Build the new transportation infrastructure now and give them transportation choice!