Spine and Open

I know Earth Day has passed, but really we should be thinking Earth Day themes every day.  One aspect of non-motorized tranpsort that is interesting to almost everyone - saving money.  There is a great calculator that attempts to take into account the actual cost of owning a car.  According to their site,

•“Drivers also pay to buy and maintain a car, including tune-ups, oil and tires, as well as for insurance, registration, and parking. Indirect costs of driving, such as road construction and maintenance, add to drivers’ financial burden through taxes and fees. In addition, there are quality of life costs that drivers and non-drivers alike pay to support automobile transportation. Though challenging to quantify, these added impacts include air pollution, traffic congestion, and health care. ”

While you may not agree with their exact calculations, it is certainly something to consider.  I put in the numbers for driving 2.5 miles to or from work each day.  2.5 miles can be biked in about 25 minutes and walked in 45 minutes.

2.5 miles each way

That is alot of money to spend on something you could easily do by your own power.  I know alot of people drive much farther than this.  I have a question for you, “why do you live so far from your job?”  I understand that some folks have to drive, but most people do not.  You chose where you live.  I chose to live 7 miles from work - I bike it almost every day, and it doesn’t cost more than $5000 per year.

People spend anywhere from about $180 to $600 a year on bike commuting, these costs include the cost of your bike (divided by 10 years), maintenance, bike safety accessories, and clothing.  IF you wanted to walk, your will probably spend about $180 a year on good shoes, and another $100 on clothing and safety accessories.  So by choosing non-motorized transport you will save thousands of dollars per year.

Another benefit of changing your commuting habits to waking or cycling is that you get to take your world in using more senses.  You can smell more of what is going on, you can hear more of what is going on, and since alot of the time you are going slower than a car you can see in detail what is going on.  I notice what the tide is like, what flowers are about to break bud, which mushrooms are coming up, how cold it is, how warm it is - I feel very in tune with my environment.  Feeling in tune with my environment is very comforting, especially in winter - when you pick up those first hints of spring like the tiniest daffodil leaf poking up through the dead leaves.

Another benefit of taking your world in slowly is conversing with your neighbors.  Just being outside more, you see your neighbors and get to talk with them.

Also since you save a lot of money by not driving (the theme of pt 5) you can take that cash and spend it in your community.  For example you can walk to your neighborhood restaurant and enjoy a meal with all the money you’ve not spent on gas.

Not only does cycling and / or walking benefit your physical health, it also benefits your mental health.  From the Mayo Clinic:

“Aerobic exercise can ease the gloominess of depression, reduce the tension associated with anxiety and promote relaxation. Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older. Aerobic exercise also keeps your mind sharp. At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week seems to reduce cognitive decline in older adults.”

You will experience moments of road anger while riding or walking, but they really are nothing compared to what happens to drivers.  For one, most of the time you can easily ride or walk your way out of a traffic jam, not so in a car.  Plus something about the way exercise makes you feel, (I know this is not a direct comparison at all…) makes commuting not so bad, most of the time.

The most cited reason that I hear from folks for not riding their bike to work is that it is too dangerous.  I do agree that riding your bike, especially in America, is dangerous, but is it more dangerous than driving?  Unfortunately, there isn’t a current fact based answer to this question (data is too old, or inaccurate).  There is some information here, and a TON of information here.  This site has a great article.  It brings up a point that I feel is quite true, there are bad drivers and there are bad cyclists.  No matter your mode of transport, if we could just separate the bad ones from the good ones, we would all be safer. A great deal of car / bicycle accidents are caused by stupidity from either party or both.

This site has step by step instructions for note getting hit by cars.  Essentially, follow the rules of the road and pay attention!  There is a good scientific study that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark over 14.5 years. It found that cycling to work (an average of 3 hours cycling per week) decreased risk of mortality by about 39% compared to a sedentary control group. This study involved 30,000 people. The study took into account age, health status, and socio-economic factors such as education. It also found that older people gained even more from physical activity than younger people.(Source: Anderson, Lars Bo “All-Cause Mortality Associated With Physical Activity During Leisure Time, Work, Sports and Cycling to Work” Archives of Internal Medicine Vol 160 No. 11 June 12, 2000.)

I think it is important to note however, that cycling is inherently safer in Denmark than it is in America.   “U.S. cyclists are two times more likely to be killed than German cyclists and three times more than Dutch cyclists, whether compared per-trip or per-distance traveled. American pedestrians are roughly 3 times more likely to get killed than German pedestrians and over 6 times more likely than Dutch pedestrians.”  (”Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons From The Netherlands and Germany” September 2003, Vol 93, No. 9 | American Journal of Public Health)  So, we can not exactly transfer the figures from the Dutch study, but the 39% margin does not decrease to zero, or any number close to zero.

One source of danger that I have feared is breathing in all the emissions from cars.  There is a very scientific study (that has been misrepresented on some sites) that compares pollutant exposure to cyclists vs. pollutant exposure to motorists.  The study found, quite convincingly, that motorists are subject to higher pollution levels.  The part that bicycle promoting sites leave out is that, “calibrated for the higher ventilation of cyclists, their uptake of CO, benzene, toluene and xylene sometimes approached that of car drivers…”  In addition,  “The uptake of NO2 of cyclists was clearly higher than that of car drivers.” (Source: J. van Wijnen, A. Verhoeff, H. Jans, M. van Bruggen, 1995, “The exposure of cyclists, car drivers and pedestrians to traffic-related air pollutants”, International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 67(3), pp.187-193.)  An important point to note is the phrase, “sometimes approaches.”  So - except for NO2, cyclists are NOT in-taking more pollution than drivers, though if you are operating at a highly aerobic rate, you could be coming close.

I wish that I could say that cycling in American is X % more or less dangerous than driving, but I can’t.  I can say that a world in which driving (significantly contributing to negative environmental change)  is the only option, is not a world I want to live in.  I’m willing to take the chance of getting in an accident - and I’ve been taking that chance most days for 10 years.

Hey folks,

Recently I started on my 11th year of bike commuting; this makes me the resident bike commuting expert at my job.  They asked me to put together some slides for an earth day presentation.  I uncovered quite a bit of info, and actually read the source material that other folks cite - and discovered some misinterpretations out there.  In a series of 6 posts I should cover all the material.  This first post will discuss the physical fitness aspects of using non motorized transport.

Simply put - if you ride or walk to work you are burning more calories than driving your car, and therefore, improving your physical fitness.

calories burned

I used this site to calculate the calories.  Note, that walking 4 mph is quite a fast clip.  How about these pieces of info:

• Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese: 66%. (Source = CDC)

Guess what?  There are other benefits to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (Source):

• Increase your stamina. Aerobic exercise may make you tired in the short term. But over the long term, you’ll enjoy increased stamina and reduced fatigue.
• Ward off viral illnesses. Aerobic exercise activates your immune system. This leaves you less susceptible to minor viral illnesses, such as colds and flu.
• Reduce health risks. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer.
• Manage chronic conditions. Aerobic exercise helps lower high blood pressure and control blood sugar. If you’ve had a heart attack, aerobic exercise helps prevent subsequent attacks.
• Strengthen your heart. A stronger heart doesn’t need to beat as fast. A stronger heart also pumps blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body.
• Keep your arteries clear. Aerobic exercise boosts your high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol and lowers your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,” cholesterol.
• Stay active and independent as you get older. Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older.

Are you part of the 66% of Americans that are overweight?  Don’t have time to go to the gym?  How about changing your commute habits?

The next post will address some of the concerns folks have regarding their physical safety and walking or cycling.

I saw this shared office space on top of Queen Ann hill this morning, I thought it was amusing.

tax prep and hypnosis

I have been struck by two songs recently both regardng the subject of grey eyes.  One “grey eyes”  is by the stellar shoegaze band the  sleepover disaster and you can listen to it here.

Sleepover Disaster

Anisa from Sky Cries Mary

The second “grey eyes”  is by a band influential and near and dear to my heart, Sky Cries Mary, and you can hear it here.

I really enjoy both of these tunes, but I don’t think I’ve actually seen any eyes I would classify as grey.

Here is what wikipedia has to say about grey (they say gray) eyes:

“Gray eyes have less melanin than blue eyes,^{[citation needed]} even though they are considered a darker shade of blue (like blue-green). They^{[clarification needed]} are most common in European Russia, Finland and the Baltic States.^{[citation needed]} Under magnification, gray eyes exhibit small amounts of yellow and brown color in the iris.

A gray iris may indicate the presence of a uveitis. However, other visual signs make a uveitis obvious.

Visually, gray eyes often tend to appear to change between the shades of blue, green and gray; this is because gray eyes are extremely light, as mentioned before. The color change for gray eyes is usually influenced by the lighting and the colors in the surroundings (such as clothes, makeup, etc.).

The Greek goddess Athena was renowned for having “owl-gray” or “sea-gray” eyes (in Greek, γλαυκῶπις – glaukōpis).^[33].”

HMMM… I also found this cool site, ask a geneticist.

Apparently these grey eyes are so enchanting they command songs, I must keep a lookout for some.  My eyes are officially called Hazel.

Of Spines and Wide Open Spaces was going to be the title of Half Light’s (then functioning under the name Opunita) first CD.  The thing was Opuntia did not have that many songs at the time, or a real band.   So Before Half Light’s first CD came out, another local band called their album Spine to Sea.  I had to be different of course.  Here is a picture that reminded me of the abandoned album title, and it’s condensed version which has taken on new life as the theme of this here bloggity blog.

West texas, New Mexico???

I took this picture in October of 2006 while on tour with the Purrs.  We were headed from Austin to Tuscon, and coming upon these mountains was really nice, because West Texas is pretty flat.  I’m not sure if we were in Texas or New Mexico, but this is one of my favorite pictures from the 100 or so that were taken on tour.  I really enjoy the sky.

I have an update regarding my disillusionment with what I call Deathcake 2.0.  I sent Cupcake Royale an e-mail begging them to bring back the original deathcake.  Les than 24 hours later, I received a great response from them.  While I may still be in disagreement, I was impressed that they got back to me with a personal and caring response.  When is the last time you got customer service like that?  For me it’s been a long time.  Here is the response from Jessie at Cupcake Royale (I assume female - but just like my name, Jessie can go either way.  Jessie I apologize if I assumed your gender incorrectly) -

“Hi Dayna,

I’m so sorry to hear you don’t love the new Deathcake!  We are all super excited to have a new, cupcake-ier manifestation of death-by-chocolate meets Cupcake Royale.  We use the same bold Stumptown espresso ganache as last year, only this time, instead of a thin outer layer, it’s a dark, luscious truffle deep inside the cake-y interior.  And on top, we have decadent waves, piled extra high, of the same super dark Theo Chocolate ganache.  Altogether with our fudgey new chocolate cupcake,  we are in love this chocolate treat.  Our biggest complaint about last year’s Deathcake is that it just wasn’t a cupcake, and that’s what we always wanted it to be - the absolute ultimate chocolate cupcake.  As a cupcake bakery, we really don’t want to be in the business of making painstakingly elaborate, super pricey desserts.  After 2 years of experimenting, the discovery of a method to cram that much chocolate and coffee goodness into one magical cupcake was like a life changing moment for us.  A baker’s miracle, even.

I too, was an avid fan of the squared off version, but have been quickly converted by the deliciousness of this cupcake beast.  I sure hope you are too, but if not, I do understand, and I sincerely apologize for any Valentine disappointment it may have caused you.

Cheers,
Jessie”

At least now I understand, and judging by the picture on their website, they have made a little modification to the deathcake 2.0 that I tried, specifically - there is much more of the espresso part:

that does look good...

I  felt that, now that I know where to find the hidden treasure, you could probably cut this guy into 6 parts and get 6 bites with all of the goodies deathcake has to offer.  I wrote to Jessie to ask permission to include her response in my blog, and to let her know that I plan to try another cupcake with my new splitting strategy and she said,

“Yay!  Just let me know when and where you want to give the new deathcake another try, and there will be one waiting with your name on it, on the house.   And feel free to post my reply on your blog.”

I thought that was pretty nice.  And, I have no intention to swindle a hard working local company out of $ they deserve for chocolate, but I will buy another deathcake, probably tonight.  And thank you Cupcake Roayle, for that little thing called customer service.  

I heard a rumor that Deathcake was out a day early.  I called cupcake royale, and they were in.  I started running around the house freaking out, grabbing my coat, and as much cash as I could I find.  In a moment of complete disregard for almost everything I believe in, I got a ride to the store.  I needed to get there fast, and I needed my precious cargo to get home intact - the bike ride would have destroyed their beauty.  I am sorry polar bears.

Lucky for me there was not a huge line for cupcakes like there usually is.  I got to the front of the line, “I am here for deathcake.”

“How many do you want?”

“Four.”  The deathcakes they gave me, did not look like the beauties in the post below.  For one they look like a cupcake.

I thought the layers of cake and ganache were tucked inside the wrapper.  You know, the economy is tough, cost of goods is high, they just scaled the thing down, no problem.  I got home, I peeled back the wrapper no layers.  I thought, well this frosting stuff on top better be really good.  It was ok.  I got a hint of the espresso, but none of the deep dark ganache I remembered.  This new version 2.0 deathcake is an imposter.

The old deathcake, it was made with love.  You could tell that the person(s) that created it, and delicately put it together, had a well-thought out and well-lived devotion to chocolately goodness.  This person(s) did not even consider milk chocolate chocolate, they laughed at anything under 60% cocoa.    Deathcake 2.0, 2009 release is really cute.  Someone spent a lot of time on the application of the frosting.  But its not the same thing.  One can easily eat the whole thing in one sitting, and never get the chocolate high.

Dear cupcake royale, please bring me joy!  Please do away with this imposter deathcake and bring back the real one.  You can charge me more money, you can cut the size in half.  I don’t care; the real Deathcake made February ok.  Now, well I’m just disappointed.