Bike Generators and Come Alongs, Oh My
Since moving to this off-the-grid house in New Mexico, I haven't been able to use my treadmill, since it draws way too much power. Why would I even want to use my treadmill, since I live in a beautiful area with lots of places to exercise outside? Well, I already do go for plenty of walks outside; what I want is a way to get regular cardio exercise. With my balance issues, running without something to hold onto is not possible. It's also really hilly here and hills are hard on the joints.
It has always seemed absurd to me to use electricity to power an exercise machine at the same time that you're doing work through the actions of your body, work that is being wasted beyond the benefits of exercise itself. Why not be generating electricity to power the damn machine, at the very least, and storing any left over?
In my situation now, I got to thinking: I need to power an exercise machine and can't run it off of the house--I should just find some way to adapt the exercise machines that I already have so that they can run off of my body's work. I recently read about how the Occupy Sandy Relief folks (who are helping to support the people and rebuild neighborhoods after Hurricane Sandy in Long Island) were using bicycles to generate power in the neighborhoods that were (and are still) lacking electricity after the hurricane. (MoRUS)
Bike generators! This is perfect! A bike generator set up includes a stand for your bike, a generator, an inverter, and a battery that can store the energy produced by biking. I need to do some more research comparing the systems offered by the various companies, but here's an example of a company that offers the components of the system both individually, for those with a few skills, and as packages, for those who just want something that's ready right out of the box. From what I can tell, given that we already have some of the components such as the battery, and I have a working bike, I can set up a system for my own use for around $300. That's not terrible. Here's one of the companies that offers these set-ups: http://www.econvergence.net/product-p/pawa-1.htm.
So now I don't know what I want to get myself for Christmas. There are a couple of things that aren't complete necessities that would nevertheless be very useful additions to my life. There's this bike set up, but I've also got my eye on a refurbished Kitchenaide Mixer (which would ease the bread and pastry making process for my joints),
a come along hand powered winch to help get my car out of rough spots (which would cost under $100), and a new table saw (the one I used to use belongs to my ex-husband and though he said I could have it when I moved from Maryland to New Mexico, we ran out of room in the moving truck. The saw would be useful for the spring, when I hope to build, with M's assistance, a chicken coop. I need to do some research about the saw, though, because it's likely that we don't have enough juice to run it using our current electrical system.
On getting myself something for Christmas: My attitudes toward Christmas have changed a lot over the years. I know there's all the commercialism and bullshit, and I generally hate the habitual doing of things just because we as a group have been socialized to do them. I acknowledge that I've been socialized into Christmas, but some of my favorite memories are from being with my family (both when I was a child and more recently as a parent), cooking together, giving and getting presents, sitting around wrapping presents at the very last moment, and lounging around the house together on Christmas Day. I also see Christmas an opportunity to think about the people closest to me and what kinds of objects or experiences would be meaningful for them. I strongly dislike buying presents for people just because I feel like I have to and I generally don't do that anymore. But I enjoy the time I spend thinking about the people I love and what kinds of things would both surprise them and enrich them.
For example, a few years ago, I bought my mother, who has no money to spend on herself, a radio/cd/tape player, and I made her some cds by artists I knew she missed listening to. Music has always meant a lot to her and for years, she really had no way to listen to it. Now, every day she listens to the community radio station and cds that Mike and I have burned for her. She's also able to listen to cds of my brother's music.
A few years ago, I bought her a sewing machine. That was a similar situation. Throughout my childhood, she made clothes for me and herself. But when she left my dad and became homeless, she put all her belongings, including her sewing machine, in storage. When she couldn't pay the rent, they sold everything. They also sold all of her photograph albums so another Christmas, I gathered up all the photos I had and selected ones I thought would be significant to her. I made copies and put them in albums so that she would again have her own albums. Those are the kinds of presents I enjoy giving.
When people ask me what I want for Christmas, I don't know what to say. I don't want to provide a list of things I want. If I want something enough, I'll get it for myself. I used to tell people what I wanted, but often I either wouldn't get what I wanted or they'd get me something I did want, but it would be off in some way just enough to make it not be what I had wanted, in which case I couldn't justify getting it for myself but I also didn't have what I wanted. So I now buy myself a Christmas present or two every year--something that's not an absolute necessity, but something that I both want and which would be useful.
I do enjoy getting presents from others sometimes. In my family we have a tradition of giving things like chocolate, nuts, candles, and socks. Essentially, since we each buy these things and give them to one another, it's more like a swap. I also like things that are symbolic representations of relationships, objects that evoke shared memories, or things which show that a person really understands deeply who I am, what I'm like, and what I enjoy.
It has always seemed absurd to me to use electricity to power an exercise machine at the same time that you're doing work through the actions of your body, work that is being wasted beyond the benefits of exercise itself. Why not be generating electricity to power the damn machine, at the very least, and storing any left over?
In my situation now, I got to thinking: I need to power an exercise machine and can't run it off of the house--I should just find some way to adapt the exercise machines that I already have so that they can run off of my body's work. I recently read about how the Occupy Sandy Relief folks (who are helping to support the people and rebuild neighborhoods after Hurricane Sandy in Long Island) were using bicycles to generate power in the neighborhoods that were (and are still) lacking electricity after the hurricane. (MoRUS)
MoRUS [The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space... ] set up Occupy Wall Street bike generators on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets. For the past two days, volunteer riders have been pedaling as crowds of people gather to charge up their cell phones. For many people, this has been the first time they’ve been able to contact loved ones after Hurricane Sandy hit (http://rt.com/usa/news/occupy-bike-generator-sandy-813/).
Bike generators! This is perfect! A bike generator set up includes a stand for your bike, a generator, an inverter, and a battery that can store the energy produced by biking. I need to do some more research comparing the systems offered by the various companies, but here's an example of a company that offers the components of the system both individually, for those with a few skills, and as packages, for those who just want something that's ready right out of the box. From what I can tell, given that we already have some of the components such as the battery, and I have a working bike, I can set up a system for my own use for around $300. That's not terrible. Here's one of the companies that offers these set-ups: http://www.econvergence.net/product-p/pawa-1.htm. So now I don't know what I want to get myself for Christmas. There are a couple of things that aren't complete necessities that would nevertheless be very useful additions to my life. There's this bike set up, but I've also got my eye on a refurbished Kitchenaide Mixer (which would ease the bread and pastry making process for my joints),
a come along hand powered winch to help get my car out of rough spots (which would cost under $100), and a new table saw (the one I used to use belongs to my ex-husband and though he said I could have it when I moved from Maryland to New Mexico, we ran out of room in the moving truck. The saw would be useful for the spring, when I hope to build, with M's assistance, a chicken coop. I need to do some research about the saw, though, because it's likely that we don't have enough juice to run it using our current electrical system.
On getting myself something for Christmas: My attitudes toward Christmas have changed a lot over the years. I know there's all the commercialism and bullshit, and I generally hate the habitual doing of things just because we as a group have been socialized to do them. I acknowledge that I've been socialized into Christmas, but some of my favorite memories are from being with my family (both when I was a child and more recently as a parent), cooking together, giving and getting presents, sitting around wrapping presents at the very last moment, and lounging around the house together on Christmas Day. I also see Christmas an opportunity to think about the people closest to me and what kinds of objects or experiences would be meaningful for them. I strongly dislike buying presents for people just because I feel like I have to and I generally don't do that anymore. But I enjoy the time I spend thinking about the people I love and what kinds of things would both surprise them and enrich them.
For example, a few years ago, I bought my mother, who has no money to spend on herself, a radio/cd/tape player, and I made her some cds by artists I knew she missed listening to. Music has always meant a lot to her and for years, she really had no way to listen to it. Now, every day she listens to the community radio station and cds that Mike and I have burned for her. She's also able to listen to cds of my brother's music.
A few years ago, I bought her a sewing machine. That was a similar situation. Throughout my childhood, she made clothes for me and herself. But when she left my dad and became homeless, she put all her belongings, including her sewing machine, in storage. When she couldn't pay the rent, they sold everything. They also sold all of her photograph albums so another Christmas, I gathered up all the photos I had and selected ones I thought would be significant to her. I made copies and put them in albums so that she would again have her own albums. Those are the kinds of presents I enjoy giving.
When people ask me what I want for Christmas, I don't know what to say. I don't want to provide a list of things I want. If I want something enough, I'll get it for myself. I used to tell people what I wanted, but often I either wouldn't get what I wanted or they'd get me something I did want, but it would be off in some way just enough to make it not be what I had wanted, in which case I couldn't justify getting it for myself but I also didn't have what I wanted. So I now buy myself a Christmas present or two every year--something that's not an absolute necessity, but something that I both want and which would be useful.
I do enjoy getting presents from others sometimes. In my family we have a tradition of giving things like chocolate, nuts, candles, and socks. Essentially, since we each buy these things and give them to one another, it's more like a swap. I also like things that are symbolic representations of relationships, objects that evoke shared memories, or things which show that a person really understands deeply who I am, what I'm like, and what I enjoy.
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