A big backyard.

I always grew up with a big back yard. The biggest so far would be about 2,200 acres. I miss it often when I am in an apartment. Someday I want to own land. Maybe 5 or 10 acres. Enough to be self-sufficient and to sell the excess. A lot of work, but so worth it in every way.

This cool infographic says it can be done on about 2.But I would want to rotational graze livestock and possibly harvest hay. I would also want a windmill which takes up less space than lots of solar panels.  Whatever. All part of the dream.

The wardrobe I want.

Bike Community outraged by GM Ad

A GM ad directly targeting college students has been removed because of some pretty serious scrutiny by environmental groups. A short blurb on Grist has a rather humorous bent to it but this ABC article tells it more like it is. Either way GM is doing some pretty serious, albeit humorous, backpedaling on their Twitter feed.  

The ad portrays a male college student shielding his face from a female in a car. She seems to be checking him out. He is just embarrassed. I cant help but laugh. Pardon me for being wired by the attractiveness level of a guy can instantly spike when he goes zooming by. Those instances are kinda few and far between in my college town sadly. Men who ride bikes are sexy. Men who drive nasty GM trucks, not so much.

The irony is, as many comments have astutely pointed out, that GM was just bailed out in 2009. The tax payers and the ones responsible for GM's salvation are the younger generation.  Really GM's marketing scheme seems to be pissing off or offending the people that they should be carefully bringing into their fold. 

But frankly this just gives me another excuse to ride my bike and not look for a car anytime soon. I don't want the expense or the hassle.I don't pay to license my bike. I don't pay to park it. It does not need gas or "payments" or oil changes. I don't have to go out and spend $400 on tires. I am healthier, happier and more Eco-friendly. Plus, I am sure I get more compliments on my bike than most people get on their cars. 

Car culture will die hard in America. Time will only tell when GM will belly up again. Someday American families might think twice about purchasing their third and fourth cars. I would like to believe that will be sooner rather than later. We are the ones that put ourselves in this place and only our actions can get ourselves out.

Keep Biking,
CCosner

The Homecooked Meal Wins Again...

(c)Copyright 2011 The New York Times Company

The old argument that a home cooked meal is cheaper and healthier than fast food wins again. I think it is interesting to note that what was once the necessities of the poor (homemade meals, cloths, soap, a garden etc.) have become the luxuries of the rich. What started this shift? Is is because we work to much for the money we "need" to live hand to mouth? How can we fix this system?

Occupy Wall Street

Nobody Can Predict The Moment Of Revolution from ivarad on Vimeo.