The Shepherdsville Times: Supply And Demand
Jerry Selby suggests ways of cutting down an over-supply of flab and at the same time reducing the use of non-renewable fuels.
When you have an oversupply of one commodity, and a shortage of another, a useful solution is to match the two demands. Elementary, right?
Right now, we definitely have an oversupply of human flab in out fair land. Use whatever euphemisms you choose, and approach the problem with all sorts of innovative solutions, the basic fact is that we eat plenty in our land of plenty, and don’t get enough exercise.
And it’s obvious that most of us either don’t want to burn off those calories in a weight loss program, or find it well nigh impossible to find the time or the money.
At the same time, we are all finally becoming aware that we are going to have to reduce our dependence on non-renewable fuels to produce the power we think we must have in ever increasing amounts.
Much of that power is used, and supplied, in small amounts. Electricity is the most common and widespread power source for this type of usage. Usually the electrical power comes from municipal power lines. But much of it is stored in chemical batteries, rechargeable or not.
Many of small power tools and appliances are descended from hand or foot powered ancestors. In fact some hand-powered versions are still in use, alongside their electric or gasoline descendants.
What most people under fifty don’t realize is that many larger machines, even industrial tools, were, in the not-so-distant past, powered by human hands or feet, or by dogs, goats, horses or cattle.
A big advantage of electrical power, in particular, is that it can be stored for long periods of time, yet available instantly on demand. That is not always true for animal/people power. But with modern technology and new materials, devices to store hand generated electricity may become as cheap and versatile as today’s flashlight or radio batteries, with few of the environmental problems posed by worn out batteries.
New developments could permit capacitors to replace batteries as the small-unit electrical storage appliance of choice. Hand or foot powered generators have been around for years. I used one to power my bicycle headlight back in the ‘40s. Right now I have a handy combination flashlight- AM/FM radio, emergency siren, and red warning flasher which can be powered either by it’s self contained hand cranked generator or by it’s rechargeable battery. A Christmas gift, which I haven’t used as much as it deserves. Very handy when you don’t have ready access to a power supply.
If I used a stationery bike with a generator, I could surely produce enough power to run my computer and probably a fluorescent lamp, too. If I had one next to the TV, another hitched to my favorite rocker, and a storage battery hooked in, who knows, I could get ambitious enough to power a small refrigerator for my personal cold beverage cache. Or do other meaningful tasks.
And possibly lose a few pounds in the process.
What Time Is It?
Anybody know? Anybody care?
I operate on Selby Leg Cramp Time. When my legs cramp strongly enough and often enough, I know I may as well get up. That’s usually about five, EDST. Punch the button to start the coffee, open a Poptart for Sox and me. Get settled in the swivel rocker, and think deep thinks about shallow subjects.
Sunrise in Perry Twp. is about 7:18 this week. Eastern Daylight Time, that is. Sunrise in Portland, Maine is about 6: 15 this week. Also in Eastern Daylight Saving Time. Nice for them, to have breakfast in daylight.
Are South Bend and Mishawaka both on the same time? How about the Region? Gary, Hobart, E. Chicago, Hammond, are they all on Chicago time?
Beats me. Call ‘em up and find out, if you need to know. Better yet, call the Governor’s office. He must be right on top of the Time Question.
Managing the news
My Dad always watched the evening news before he went to bed. So did Avie’s Dad. So I guess I just took it for granted that it was the Man of the House’s duty. But lately I’ve begun to abandon that tradition.
The late evening news tends to feature negative stuff. And these days we seem to be overloaded with information from all directions.
It’s my belief that a person sleeps much better when he starts with a happy frame of mind. So unless there is something I especially want to learn before morning, I have begun ignoring the late news.
An extra chapter in a good book, or a little more time out sniffing the breeze and watching the sky.
I can wait until after breakfast to hear all that ugly stuff. Or maybe longer than that.
