Dear Chevy,

I saw your new commercial tonight. You think after all this time, you can win me back??? Frankly, I can't believe your nerve!

Well, IT'S TOO LITTLE TOO LATE! So many years, spending my money with not a care in the world. Then when that ran out, you wanted my taxes, too. Finally, I grew up and realized you were never gonna change, so I left. My needs just weren't important to you.

Now, you come around saying "I get better mileage than your Accord."

I had to leave you before you even considered what I wanted. Now you offer me what you couldn't when I left. Well, it's just not enough. That was years ago. I've grown and I have BIGGER DREAMS!

You want me to leave my Accord, for a common Cobalt? Not even if you had an ELECTRIC CAR!!! Chevrolet, I don't ever want to see you again!

Sitting Outside

I spent around 30-40 minutes this late afternoon sitting in front of the corner grocery store at one of those outdoor bistro tables. I bought some weird but delicious polish cookies called Delicje. I just sat there thumbing through the free City Arts magazine, eating my cookies, and watching the people walk, run, bike and drive by. It was so peaceful and pleasant. My day has not been bad so far, but those 30 minutes probably doubled or tripled the quality of my day!

That's when I realized "Wow, I really need to take breaks from my people-house!" Just like taking breaks at work, I need to get outside of my people-house for at least 15 min every 2 hours. I really like my people-house, but have hated living in a people-house for about 6 months now. Thinking I was missing living in my tent, I just kept complaining about living in this stupid, superfluous people-house.

Now, I think maybe I just miss being outside. Living in a tent pretty much makes you spend tons of time outside, because it's really not much more comfortable inside, unless it's raining. And there's not much to do inside a tent. There's not much cleaning or maintaining to be done. You pay your bills at the post office or library, when you live in a tent. You can watch movies on your laptop in a tent, but why not just take it outside to the camp chairs? It's dangerous to cook inside the tent, so you cook outside or just go to the pub and eat with your friends.

Since we've been back in Seattle, I've also been working in a building instead of outdoors. As a river guide, it's not just when you are on the river that your outside. It's the whole job:
loading boats - outside; riding on the bus - head; feet and hands outside; safety talk - outside; on the river - outside; schmoozing guests - outside; making lunch - outside; cooking dinner/breakfast- outside (usually in a superbly equipped kitchen), sleeping - outside!

It's no wonder, I'm missing my outdoor time. It makes sense, because I really do like our people-house, but something is missing in there.

So today, I started taking my OSHA mandated breaks from my people-house and I pledge to stick to the recommended schedule of one 15 minute break every 2 indoor hours for the sanity and safety of myself and my co-dwellers.

Not Milk?

Hate the taste of that frothy goo from the moo-moo? Feeling bad about not drinking those 3 glasses of milk a day, recommended by the Dairy Association. Well don't feel bad, anymore. Check out this website: milk sucks. Not only do I think it's funny that a website exists called Milk Sucks, but its a great point - people pushing milk often overlook the fact that it's not very good for you. If you didn't know, simply speaking, the cause of Osteoporosis is a lack of calcium, but this is usually due to an over-consumption of protein... hmmm, wait milk has alot of protein...

This recommendation ignores the lack of evidence for a link between consumption of dairy products and prevention of osteoporosis.

Harvard School of Public Health

Drunk Biking Legal!

This is awesome. I'm not sure if this is a great idea or a terrible idea, but it's yet another reason the bicycle is superior to the automobile.

In Washington State, it is legal to ride your bike drunk, although if you sass the cop, your bike will likely be impounded, but there is no fee!

Full text here.

Turn off the auto-pilot

So I have been out for awhile. Idling along in my created-world life, happily - mostly. Avoiding computer time, but I was roused from my slumber by a ridiculous email. Allegedly written by someone intelligent, but obviously transparent propaganda.

I think I'm pretty funny, so I helped this guy say what he really meant to say. I'm posting it here because I get angry when I get these emails, especially when people say they didn't really agree with it but sent it anyway.

Here is my plea. BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU CREATE IN THE WORLD. When you repeat things idly, you add snow to the snowball, fuel to the fire. Be intentional. Only add fuel to a fire you believe in. And I really believe in making fun of this guy's parochial and sophomoric tirade. I don't believe he is really scared, but uses the word "scared" to try to scare me. I feel like he is talking to my brother's kids, and I don't even have a brother.

Here is the problem with forwarding this to me. I can read. So I read, then I think...

Most of this doesn't even make sense logically. Who cares how Obama paid for college??? This seems to have been written by a twelve year old who is easily frightened.

anyway, i have corrected the letter for your enjoyment. I have added his private thoughts that he had hoped to arouse in his readers.
(DISCLAIMER: This is a caricature, I am not claiming that these are his actual thoughts, only my perception of them. Any similarity to his actual thoughts is purely coincidental. This email is intended for educational purposes only, not to be construed as financial advice. I am not nor do I claim to be a professional of anything but river guiding. HA - There you go, you litigious right-wingers; you'll have to get your golden egg elsewhere!)

love,
me

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. - Samuel Johnson

Begin forwarded message:

Per snopes, Pritchett acknowledges writing this letter & sending it to the NYTimes.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT Obama

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. (Because I don't trust black people, they are mostly theives.)

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. (I am easily confused by the big words you use.)

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. (I could understand if your daddy paid your way, getting you out of every debacle you created.)

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. (In other words, you don't understand that you need to use fear to keep the public in line, while you syphon off millions of dollars to your friend's companies.)

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. (If you had run a couple companies into the ground, at least I could trust you would try.)

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core. (You have too much compassion! At the very least, you could have crashed a couple fighters during training.)

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others. (I don't like it when people blame me for not taking responsibility when I refuse to take responsibility.)

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.
(I can't even make up a funny comment for this one. This is just plain dumb. You can't really believe this. If you do, you should stop watching Fox entertainment news; all this was handled in the primary. What does that even mean - "America fail?" Does that mean give up the Bill of Rights to "increase safety" by hiring a whole class of previously unemployed workers to staff the TSA and slow down our air travel, because OOPS, Georgie took care of that.)

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad.. (I mean, the world loved us until you were elected by an ACTUAL majority.)

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. (Those Euro's scare me too, with all their fun, and happiness, and their good health; they need to work harder, I hear they all get a month off per year.)

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one. (My uncle is a medical insurance CFO, and my wife is a VP at Major drug company.)

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. (I have a majority share in... well, let's just say renewable power is a bad idea until all the fossil fuels are gone.)

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world. (I've got MY golden egg; it was subsidized by taxpayers, because it was mis-managed by people committed to producing a product that Americans no longer want, so congress had to save it from bancruptcy. But it's okay, the goose got the those managers out of there and it only cost a couple million for their two weeks severance pay.)

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations. (I can't really tell the difference between the branches of government; the President is part of Congress, right?)

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. (We've spent too much money in Iraq to waste any money on our citizens.)

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. (I's educated! My mom said I was smart.)

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. (Are you claiming to be God? I'm pretty sure I heard you open a speech with "I'm a Golden God" or that could have been Billy Crudup in Almost Famous. I hate that movie, glamorizing drugs and Rock And Roll... I am waiting patiently for you to say you are omnipresent, then it's on!)

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. (It's wierd that they do, since Rupert Murdoch is so far right that he scares most of us, and he OWNS most of the American media.)

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. (These are intelligent, compassionate men who only occasionally use circular logic to confuse the viewers. It's not fair to demonize them, they never demonized you - unless you count calling you the "Devil.")

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing. (Plus, you let your wife run all over you.)

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. (Because you will still be able to use the Patriot Act on me, unless you close Guantanamo Bay, which you would only do if you yourself were a terrorist.)

Lou Pritchett

Which is the "Real World"

After spending a month camping, 20 days of which were on a continuous river trip on the 297 miles of the Colorado River that passes through the Grand Canyon, I returned home to hear much talk of the "real world." Such as, "how is it coming back to the real world?," and "oh, I'm not ready to go back to the real world." Another favorite of mine is the phrase "real world pressures."

I would like to make our phrasing a little more accurate. Where humans spend most of their mental time is an unusual, totally-invented world. Most of this "world" was not here until humans dreamed it up, then began living as if these invented things were necessities. Almost all of our "real world pressures" are related to acquiring amenities and luxuries.

So I am now redefining the world where we spend most of our time - the "Created World." From hence forth, the natural world (AKA the wilderness) will be known as the "Real World."

In the real world, the one that would continue on without humans, people need very little to survive, even thrive - water, food, shelter. Beyond that, to improve our quality of life, we tend to seek beauty, companionship, love and peaceful rest. Sadly, these are qualities that are typically missing from our Created-World life. And our pursuit of these often interrupted by those alleged "real world pressures."

So, when you speak to me of the real world, know that I am imagining a high desert plain with a canyon running through it, where life abounds near the flow of the river, where the only people you see are the people of your tribe and the only buildings around are makeshift huts (AKA tents and tarps), where there is no money to be made, no career ladder to climb, no cars to maintain, and even no internet on which to spew my rhetoric. But only beauty to be seen in every direction and my only concerns are "is this the best camp before dark" and "what's for dinner?"

Glad I was bike commuting!

Since it is Bike to Work Month, I have committed to biking to work 100% during May. This is choice has really paid off so far with vast increases in fitness level (in other words, far less pain on those Seattle hills), gas money savings (I haven't bought ANY since I returned from vacation), and time savings.

Due to some crazy construction on Northbound I-5, I would have been stuck in this for the last three nights, even though I was leaving work after 9pm.

Since I had so much extra time, and it was nice out, I decided to stop on the overpass and take a look at the fantastic view of downtown and Elliot Bay. Seeing the EMP (pics) is one reason I love bike commuting everyday. Sorry, I only took pictures of the traffic. Guess it would have been nicer if I had taken some of the view, since you're probably used to this view!

Lucky to be Poor?

Three weeks of vacation gave me a technology aversion, but after a week of work and "civilization," I am easing back onto the keyboard. Before my excursion from this man-made land of money out into the REAL world, I read this great article by Charles Mudede in the Stranger. He makes an interesting point about our middle class lacking freedom that comes with either being very wealthy or very poor. Excerpt from Young, Poor, Lucky below.

When I turned 20, they sent me to America to obtain a respectable degree... But almost immediately after arriving in the land of milk and honey, I rejected this clear future for no future at all. I came to America for exactly what it is famous for: freedom.

The freedom that comes with riches has its double in another kind of economic freedom: the freedom of owning nothing. Both liberate you from time, obligations, and other people.

What American poverty offers—and this is not the case with African poverty, which is nothing but oppressive—is the possibility that anything might happen: miracles of money, one-night stands, movement to anywhere by any means (back of a truck, back of a bicycle, back of motorbike, back of a bus).

The Design of the American Corporation

As long as the design of the corporation provides incentives and rewards based solely on profit, we will be subject to the greed that we have incubated through this system.

The laws governing our corporations require that good men do SOLELY what is good for the company while excluding any kind of personal accountability. As we see today, ultimately this design only benefits the most wealthy of our nation, about 1% of the population.

When we change the laws to reflect our true values, not the values nurtured by the endless barrage of marketing materials plied against our minds daily, we will have true and lasting change. Changing political power back and forth between the two parties most impacted by lobbying profitists, may provide hope but ultimately will not lead to lasting change unless we demand it.

If we want to end the inconceivable bonuses given to failing CEO's, the layoffs of the most experienced generation of our workforce, the rampant distribution of pharmaceutical drugs that do little to no good while causing actual harm, the destruction of our rivers, forests, and glaciers, the invasion of the soda industry into our public schools, the astronomical over-leverage of our financial institutions, etc, etc, we must demand accountability. To solve all these problems through the natural mechanism of a true free market system (as opposed to a subsidized free market), all we have to do is legislate change - in the form of incentives to do the greatest good (for company, employees, and clients) and accountability for damages.

It is time to lead the world, not compete with it.

Step 3 - Party all the time

Okay, Step 3 isn't party all the time, but if I wrote "Step 3 - Budget" no one would click the link.

So Step 3 is "Live below your means."

Huh? Ya, it's pretty simple - spend less than you earn. Most people who are having a hard time doing this really only have two options: 1) Pay cash for everything, or 2) Budget.

Sounds easy enough now, but the first time I heard that I had all kinds of excuses like: I have too much debt, I can't afford to pay cash, a budget is too restricting, I should get paid more money.

Well it took me 2 years at about $250 a month to our accountant to get me into the habit of budgeting well and it was worth every penny. At the time, I said I didn't have an extra $50 a month but during that two years, I paid the $250 easily, along with approximately $38,000 in debt.

Budgeting bought me the freedom to quit my full-time job and work several "dream jobs" last year and still take 4 months off. So, for me, budgeting equals freedom. You don't see those words together often. This year, unless I tighten the strings a little more, we will ONLY have about 7 weeks off, not including 3 day weekends.

Step 3: Budget. Start now with guestimates. Don't be too hard on yourself, but conscientiously track where you go over. If you choose, you can change it next month. Don't forget to allocate set-asides for things that don't occur every month like car repairs, car registration, clothing - even if it can only be a few dollars a month.

What I Don't Want to Do, as a Career!

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.

John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler from the original motion picture "Say Anything..."

On Being Normal

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car, and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it.

Ellen Goodman

What's Your Walkability Score?

Mine is a 98 - Walker's Paradise. This is no accident; I am not merely lucky. When we moved to Seattle, we were very careful to find a neighborhood full of things we enjoy - active lifestyle, like-minded people and walking distance amenities. We can actually afford to pay more to live in a beautiful home by getting out in the fresh air and walking more often.

Next time you plan a move, check out this website first to find a highly walkable neighborhood. If you are not sure why you want a walkable neighborhood, click here.

Hooray for human-powered locomotion. Come on, baby, do the (human-powered) locomotion!!!

I'm interested in your neighborhood's Walkability Score. Let me know by posting a comment to this post with your city, neighborhood and score.

I'm off for a slow, relaxing walk with my wife...

Without a car in the world!

The pun in the title obviously pulled me right in to this article, by Jane Holtz Kay. Of course being car-free sounds care-free, but is it truly possible? I had to find out. I need examples before I can trust an idea so exciting. Here's a shocking realization from this article:

"The young man who drove me to the airport says he lives thirty miles from school, a one-hour drive each way," I record Solomon's words in my book. "His 2-l/2-year old truck has 78,000 miles on it and he hasn't been anywhere. Fifty times the Odyssey, eight times the travels of Marco Polo, how many hundreds of times the walks of Leopold Bloom? And with what density of experience, what learned in his 78,000 mile journey?"

Do we really drive that much without going ANYWHERE? Fifty times the distance of the Odyssey, that puts something in perspective!

And how about this quote, after describing some of the difficulties associated with being car-free on a long work trip,

But the worst of it for harassed and auto-dependent Americans was that the curse of my car-less trip was no more burdensome than if I had depended on an automobile for the same trip. In fact, a car would have caused as many bumps and hazards in the driving and wayfinding, not to mention a few more in parking, tolls and other expenses. Such is the state of transportation in the most auto-moted nation in the world.

But my wife and I really need a car! I have used it to drive to work those few times I felt too sick or lazy to ride. I could have taken the bus, but that laziness won't let me get there on time. Well, according to this, commuting doesn't use the most miles.

A true recognition of how people use the motor vehicle eases others into realizing they can get by without using one. The reason they need a car, most drivers say is to get to work and take vacations. Since two-thirds of all Americans live in metropolitan areas, and spend ten 40-hour weeks a year driving to work, that sounds reasonable. Not completely, though, as the Nationwide Personal Transportation Study breakdown... reported: only 22 percent of our vehicle miles are used to go to work; only 8 percent to vacation travel. The rest is errands, recreation, taking unlicensed family members--kids and elderly or disabled--where they cannot get. Whoever coined the term "Soccer Mom" should have called her "Soccer Chauffeur." And, dad, as well."

I am fortunate on that point, because we do most of our shopping by foot with the grocery store only 5 blocks away.

Traveling by car certainly is convenient, and I always thought, relatively inexpensive, until I began to look for the hidden costs.

The infamous two-hour trek to work of, say, the Southern California commuters may be a work necessity; but it may also be a financial choice funded by hidden subsidies from cheap gas, to parking, to petroleum subsidies, to $93 billion spent annually on state, federal and local roads.

Our artificially-priced gas cost of $l.25 or so is a quarter of Japan or Europe's $4 to $5. By paying the true cost of petroleum, other countries spend half our twenty percent of the GDP on the private car and can thus afford decent public transportation.

If you are interested in reading the entire article, you can find it here.

Walking to the Bookstore

This afternoon I walked to Half Price Books to sell a few of my slightly used books. Of course, this is a part of my ongoing effort to de-clutter my life, but what a great way to get 2 hours of fun for free!

I walked about 10 blocks along a route that I regularly ride to work and occasionally drive as well, yet I was amazed at the number of interesting things I never knew were there. I saw a 10-bay VW auto shop, a boarded & burnt house being remodeled, an auto upholstery shop working on what looked like a 1930's Vauxhall (per my google images research), the outdoor sculpture garden of an art gallery, and the homeless couple living in the doorway of the closed business next to the Film Bookstore.

Walking alone gave me an opportunity to notice and comtemplate all these images which the speed of my other modes of transport prohibits.

Soon, I arrived at the bookstore which promptly offered me a paultry $3.00 for my two scantly thumbed books. I agreed and spent the better part of an hour doing to their books what I had not done to my own. Then I gave the clerk my $3 voucher and $2.45 of my own cash and left with 5 new books!

Yes, you might have noticed that I brought home more clutter than I removed. Well, to you I say moderation in all things, even de-cluttering, and I have a weakness for books.

Does a car really save time?

Another story of someone who has discovered a simpler, more fulfilling life. Read his brief article here.

Step 2 - Prioritize

I had been spending a lot of money trying to reward myself for working in a job that was not fulfilling. While it was a great job, which many of my friends envied, it was no longer fulfilling for me. It is difficult to give up a position like that when the entire world is telling you to stay, but I did. I was in an earn-to-spend cycle that was only getting worse.

When I stopped all the action to take an honest look at how I spent my time, I saw that I wanted to impact more people through my work than I had been. So I set out to find a job or career which would allow me to directly impact the quality of others' lives while doing something I enjoyed on a daily basis.

I cut out huge time sinks that I wasn't interested in, for instance, constantly learning how to fix my computer and watching the news on television.

I even prioritized my relationships spending more time with my wife and family, eventually cutting out some less-fulfilling relationships with needy-always-a-crisis types. This was particularly hard to do, but while I love those people, I had to draw a line to reduce the drama in my life.

I found a book at the used book store for $2 that helped me immensely with all this simplifying, aptly titled, "The Simple Living Guide," by Janet Luhrs. This book became my bible of simple living. Not only did this book give me insight into designing and living the life I wanted, but it offered a plethora of anecdotes giving me hope that others had succeeded on this path.

Step 2 - Prioritize your life. Authentically consider which parts are improving your quality of life. If that new bike will get you out riding more, weigh the cost against extra hours at work. If that new big screen will be a good excuse to invite friends over more often, get it. But, be sure that it is worth the cost of the time you've lost. Then trim the fat - ALL OF IT! If it's not moving you towards your goals or providing you sheer pleasure, it's most likely holding you back!

On the Automobile

The question we should be asking ourselves is not "how can we make running all these cars more affordable?," but rather "how can we reshape our communities so that car ownership is not mandatory to meet the needs of daily life?"

Zach Vanderkooy in The Oregonian, May 9, 2007

Earn an Extra $4000/Year in Your Spare Time

Or how I earn an extra $4000 a year (results not typical) by working an extra 10 minutes a day.

I have been really glad I own a car, lately. I'm not proud of myself, but I have been driving to work 2-3 times a week for the last few weeks. I just have not wanted to spend the extra 10 minutes on getting ready to ride. I blame it mainly on the fact that I have been scheduled at 8am and my struggle with being "overworked." Yes, I have been working almost 40 hours for several weeks in a row now. In fact, two weeks ago I worked 49 hours between my 3 different jobs!!! Anyway, I have been somewhat indulgent and have enjoyed the comfort of heated air on my trip to work.

That being said, I will now, yet again, expound on the glorious superiority of the bicycle over the automobile, specifically cost of ownership. While, I enjoyed my car rides to work, I am overjoyed by the fact that I haven't bought gasoline for my car in over a month and my bicycle has made that possible.

To purchase a NEW bicycle, off the floor, in 2009 in Seattle can cost anywhere from $150 (on sale) to upwards of $5000. With my focus on sustainability, I believe it's important to purchase quality goods, so we will focus on the $1000-$2000 price point. With some exceptions, purchasing far below that range is false economy. On the other hand, purchasing far above that price is paying for decreased weight much more than increased quality, which although fun to purchase, is unnecessary and unnoticeable to most.

At this point, there are likely many of you thinking, "Wow, I would NEVER pay $1500 for a bicycle." While I know at least half a dozen of you are thinking, "$1500 wouldn't buy me a new wheelset!" So let's get into some eye-opening figures.

In 2007, the last year we car commuted regularly, it cost approximately $4000 to own our car. We own a Honda Accord, lauded as the lowest cost of ownership vehicle available at the time. Our second car, when we still had one, cost an additional $3000. Those numbers are for vehicles that were paid-off. Those costs include insurance, gas, oil, car washes, registration, inspection and maintenance. Apples to apples, the bicycles I owned during 2007 cost me literally $0. I put off much maintenance that should have been done, about $200 each, but I had been putting that off for a couple of years.

Costs of Ownership

	Auto	Bicycle
Purchase	$14,000	$1,500
Insurance	$1100	$0
Fuel	$1550	$250*
Maintenance	$1200	$100
Registration	$68	$0
Happiness Quotient	RAGE!	peace
Satisfaction Guaranteed**	HUH?	Yes!
Exercise Included	HUH?	Yes!
Nature Included	HUH?	Yes!
Human Connection	Shut up, I'm multi tasking!	Hey, what's up?

*Assumes 10% increase in food consumed for fuel.
**Can you imagine trying to return your new car after the "3 day period" just because you didn't like it. Auto manufacturers are laughing at us!

To calculate how much you could save by reducing your car ownership, click here. Remember to add associated costs like car accessories (car seat for children, luggage racks, MP3 player connections, extra sunglasses that stay in the car, etc.) Some states even charge property tax on your car, so include that as well.

Now, what could you do with an extra $4000 a year. I could take a month off work and go visit family and friends!

Happy riding!

Buy from friends - Reuse

The second R of the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

To me reuse is like compound interest. Reusing things causes exponential, not algebraic results. Think about it this way. It's a word problem:

When I buy a NEW "thneed," I am holding approximately 1% of the natural resources used took to produce my "thneed," while 99% is used in extraction, production and transport. If you then buy a new thneed, the process is duplicated with another 99% waste.

Let's say my thneed weighs one pound. After three years, I realize I only need one thneed and I have two. As know we thneeds have a half-life of 100 years, so my extra still has 97 years to go. I decide instead of recycling it, I should try to sell it.

If we both buy NEW thneeds, the waste is 99 times 2 or 198. Now if you buy my "gently loved thneed," the waste is 99 times 1 plus 99 times 0,

((99x1)+(99x0))=99

Now, we divide by 2 purchases and get 45 pounds of waste per purchase. Now I am only responsible for 45 lbs of waste being created.

Here's where it gets exciting:

What if I had bought it used?

((99x0)+(99x0))=0!!!!

Can it be that both of us enjoyed a fine "thneed" without any waste?
Well, sort of. No waste was created for our enjoyment, but if we take a moment to realize that our thneed was created for our friend Bob that changes things a little.

((99x1)+(99x0)+(99x0))/3=33

Well, I would certainly rather carry around my share of the waste, 33 lbs, than buying new and having to carry the burden of 99 lbs of waste.

I once had a friend tell me that he doesn't feel comfortable involving money in his friendships, so it is more comfortable for him to purchase from a store. Many people feel this way, maybe feeling awkward about paying more than they want so as to not offend their friend. This is ridiculous. It's a marketing trick. Don't be fooled. Buying from your friends is loving them!

The moral of this word problem: Buy gently used items from friends and neighbors and save a little money while practicing Reuse!

Step 1 - Awareness

In 2004, I went on a 19 day rafting trip down the Colorado River. I had only 3 bags of personal gear including shelter. I used approximately half of those things. I learned many things about the real world and what a person needs.

When loading on the van to return to the artificial world, I realized how the "things" I owned actually decreased my quality of life. I was returning to a 2000 sq ft home with 3 bedrooms full of stuff, where my wife and I lived alone. I realized how much of my time was spent buying, maintaining, and organizing stuff.

At that moment I became a conscious consumer. We re-evaluated our lives, selling approximately a third of our belongings and giving away another third. We kept only the things that we loved.

We became very careful about purchasing only things that would increase our quality of life equal to or greater than the cost. I stopped buying things that were "too good of a deal to pass up." Free stopped being my favorite word. Free things often aren't what I want. I would now rather pay for exactly what I want or need rather than settle for something that's almost right because its free.

Step 1 - Become aware of how and why you spend. Become aware of how much time you trade (at work) for things that you don't need, or don't improve your quality of life significantly. Become aware of how much you buy that you won't want after a few months.

Tax Credit for biking to work

Your company can get a tax credit when you bike to work, $20 per month per person in fact. It's not a windfall, but at least we're moving in the right direction.

Thanks to my friend Geoff for making me aware of this.

Story here.

I bet the guy in the story could cut his commute by a third just by adjusting his stem down to move his handlebars into a lower position.

Retirement Savings - SERIOUS BUSINESS

Most of us take our retirement savings too seriously. I have a few friends who are completely stressed out because their "net worth" (read: IRA, 401K etc.) has lost 50%. But then I look at their lives and NOTHING has changed. Maybe they stopped going to Starbucks or instead of going out to the bar on Saturday they have friends over, both of which are improvements in my eyes!

Then I look at friends who have no retirement savings accounts and they are still enjoying their lives. Their savings did not lose 50%. But denial is not the answer either, I am only saying you wouldn't be so stressed had you not been counting your eggs before the fat lady sings. But you were, you believed that the number listed beside your account balance was what you were worth. Not until you cash out, my friend.

Besides, you have many years of earning potential ahead, unless you've spent that already!?!

Compare our lives today with the 1950's, the most idyllic period of our recent history, or better yet try to live like it's the 1950's (except for the music of course!)

In 1950, the average home built was around 1000 square feet and that was intended for a family of four. The average car per household was 1.2. Today, people are shocked when I say we only have one car for the two of us. Or they say, "I wish I could do that." They can, but it takes rearranging or just recognizing priorities.

Why do we "need" so much more today? The one reason - MARKETING.

It's a marketing trick. Take a look at the REAL impact of these things on your life, today. You should be looking at the number forecast in the year of your retirement. Of course, we all want to retire now, so we look at today's numbers.

So stop taking money so seriously, and stop buying things that clutter your life without adding real value to it. If I am wrong when we are 80, you can laugh at me from your cozy home in the suburbs, while I am doomed to suffer peddling my paintings on the squares of Paris...

My New "Used" Ride

Here she is, my used new ride, a pea green Surly Cross Check. I now officially own 3 bikes. One for the trail, one for the road, and now one for traveling around town. As you can see on her website, she is very versatile. Someday she may turn into my randonneuring bike.

A friend recommended the Surly Cross Check a while back. I looked around for a couple months and finally found this beauty on craigslist. Of course, I could have bought a new one for around $1000, but that's not really my style (reuse is the 1st of the 3 R's.)

Anyway, I found this and bought it for $250 (most of that came from our change jar - the 5 gallon) from a fellow Texan living in Seattle. So far I've spend about $35 on new and used parts and she's almost tip-top.

We took her out on Saturday to the farmer's market and she rode like a dream. I can't explain why, but I had so much fun. I felt like I was 10 again riding my bmx. Maybe it's the simple shifting, just a single chain ring on the front and 9-speeds on the back with a friction shifter. Or maybe it's the steel; my other bikes are aluminum. Regardless, I was up and down the curbs and circling around trees. I got so distracted Jenn had to yell to keep me from hitting a tree... in a planter on the sidewalk!?!

Sorry for the poor photo quality. I took this with my phone in poor lighting conditions.

Leisure

lei⋅sure

–noun
1. freedom from the demands of work or duty.
(2. an act committed solely for the pleasure of the act itself, with no ulterior motive.)

With all this extra time on my hands, you would think that my life has become stress free. Well according to the knots in my back this is not true.

I realized yesterday that part of the reason is I never do anything purely for leisure sake. Can you imagine that? Most people that I know would be shocked by that statement. Many see my life as nothing but leisure and think that I need to settle down, buckle down or get to work!

Since college I have systematically, unwittingly been weeding leisure out of my life. When I do anything, I compare that act to my list of goals. Then if it doesn't forward my goals, I stop doing it. This is great for being effective, but not so great for my soul. Many of my goals get accomplished quickly. Unfortunately, some of my fun gets ruined for when I attach a goal my fun becomes a duty, which technically excludes it from leisure. In fact, as some of you have mentioned - I kill fun! For example:

• When I go rock climbing - I am working towards climbing 5.12.
• When I go biking - I am commuting or working towards my mileage goal.
• When I read - I am learning something new. (I can't read fiction!)
• When I go for a walk/run - I am trying to get in better shape.
• When I watch a movie - it must be historically or culturally significant.
• When I play the guitar - I am trying to learn songs.
• I get a new job doing something fun - To learn more about it.
• Etc, etc, etc.

The problem is that I do all these things with intent of creating joy.

I recently read a great book, "Slow is Beautiful: New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie de Vivre" by Cecile Andrews. Sounds good, right? I was doing "research" for my goal of living a life of flow. Anyway, Cecile describes how people no longer allow time for leisure. I was nodding and agreeing that people fill their lives with too much to numb themselves... all the while not realizing that I had destroyed leisure with my goals.

So what do I do with this great insight... I make a goal, right? My goal is to bring leisure into my life by doing 1 leisurely thing each day>... WAIT, I'M DOING IT AGAIN. I CAN"T STOP. I'M ADDICTED TO GOALS. Okay, so my goal is to get medication for my addiction...

NO! I will resurrect leisure in my life by detaching goals from the things I once loved to do merely for the sake of doing them. Cross country ski touring on Saturday = fun.

My Definition

What is being underemployed?

Underemployed - 1. working at a job that is less than your "full potential," likely assessed by someone wanting you to work in an office or by someone believing strongly in the virtues of "hard work." 2. working less hours per week than the arbitrary standard set by a competitive work culture.

Happily - 1. By choice and loving every minute of it!

Ultimately, being happily underemployed is about living better, spending more time on exactly what I want. Even though I have loved my jobs for many years, I still don't want to spend most of my waking hours occupied with one task. I love variety.

Another reason my bike is better than my car

Cyclists are generally immune from traffic jams—they can simply dismount and walk through them.

Check out this article from U.S. News & World Report "50 Ways to Improve Your Life."
Bike commuting comes in at Numero Uno for improving your health!!!

Perfection of Design

You know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away.

Antoine de Saint Exupery

Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.

Edwin Way Teale

Repairing my clothes

As part of my quest to simplify my life and become more self-sufficient, I wanted to learn to sew. For Christmas 2007, my mom gave me her old sewing machine, a Singer 2517.
















I have put off learning to use it all this time, but now, with my new found free time and the impetus of tearing an "L" shaped hole in my favorite shorts, it is time.

First, I learned to darn a sock. Yes I know it doesn't match but I prefer blue. Anyway, this photo is after one wash. Big hole in the heal of my beloved socks - history!


Then it was time to tackle the shorts. This was really easy once I learned to thread the bobbin and the machine. Maybe a hour learning and sewing. Next time it'll take maybe 15 minutes.

prefer... just-rightness to excess

I stole this post from hipmama.com. It's old but worth a quick read to get motivated. It's great example of how living simply doesn't mean doing without!
Link to entire thread here.

prefer living simply just-rightness to excess

I'm not sure how I manage to live simply. I think it has to do with my immigrant roots. My parents each came here with $20 and a suitcase, and built up their existence from scratch. They never overspent on anything, but got the most for what they could get; my mom worked at a thrift store and so scored the best furniture, clothes, toys, as they came in, then she worked at a radio station and got comps to the circus and ice capades. All our vacations were driving/camping ones, but we went places. My dad is an engineer and loves woodworking, so he's made all my dd's furniture and most of our shelves.