Today is an election day in USA. Here in California, people will most likely elect the “that guy” as opposed to “that other guy”. In any case, make sure to
GO OUT AND VOTE! and HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

I don’t really want to tell you who to vote or what other measures and propositions to vote yes or no on. I would like to ask you something though. Either vote for something, that you believe it, even if that is a candidate that does not stand a chance, or if you vote for the least bad, make sure to keep them accountable.

Most people talk about keeping politicians accountable, but they don’t really act on it. For example, a recent minority party suddenly become a majority claiming that they will do a sweeping changes that people want. Once they came in power they actually supported most of the extremely bad policies. Some of them were so bad that the previous majority did not managed to pass. And there is no accountability, since the same new majority will probably be even stronger this time around. Their excuse is that they do not have big enough majority and that the president will veto things. But, what I really think is that they are afraid of losing their precious money from their supporters. Remember, it is not the people who elect a candidate but their financial supporters.

So, if you are a USA citizen, do your civic duty and vote. Then, make sure to get your vote counted. And I don’t mean by taking photos of ballots or doing all this other things to prevent voting fraud. Make sure your vote is counted, by making sure the things you are voting for actually do happen. Vote based on issues and not a person.

Finally, I heard of this and I think everybody should join the Million Mad March. It is a

one million angry people to gather with us in the streets of their state capitals and march in protest of the direction that our country has taken, and the dissection of the people’s role, towards what seems to be our eventual removal from the political system meant to protect and represent us.

So, one more timemake sure to
GO OUT AND VOTE! and HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

Tags: California,Politics,President
Categories: Causes, Environment, Equal Rights, Peace, Rants, Veganism
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Happy World Vegetarian Day!!

Go VEGAN!

Tags: Environment,Veganism
Categories: Environment, Party, Veganism
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Tags: Environment,Oil,Villains
Categories: Environment, Outdorsy, Rants
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Watch in “real-time” the ice melting.

Well, I guess there is going to be more water for everybody.

Tags: Environment
Categories: Environment, Geeky, Rants
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Should the bikes be on the roads? Well, this is a tricky question… for some people. For me it is pretty simple. Yes. But, let’s go baby steps. What is the best way to travel? It turns out the most efficient way is bike. The least efficient way is a single passenger car. In between are things like trains, buses, walking, etc.

But what is the cost of each mode of transportation? Well, walking is pretty much free. For biking, you got to buy a bike. Most people will say that trains are super expensive, because you have to build tracks etc. But what about cars? What is the cost of a car? Well, let’s do a quick math. My assumption is that we buy a car and throw it away 10 years later.

• Normal car: $17,000
• Gas for 10 years at 22 mpg and 15,000 miles per year and $4 per gallon: (15000 / 22) * $4 * 10 = $27,240
• Oil changes every 3000 miles: (15000 / 3000) * $15 * 10 = $750
• Repairs let say $500 per year: $5,000
• Insurance and registration is another $900 per year: $9,000

Did I forget something? Anyway, according to my math, the total cost of having a car for 10 years is about $58,990. But is that the total cost of driving?

Let’s start by comparing this to a bike. Not completely fair comparison, but let’s try it anyway:

• Normal bike: $800
• Panniers, trailer: $600
• Tubes, break pads, let say 10 tubes a year ($5), 2 tires a year ($20), 2 sets of break pads a year ($20): $1000
• Repairs let say $200 per year: $2,000

Did I miss something here? Well, the total is $4,400. And this is for a bike that is tuned twice a year, gets new tires and break pads once a year, has panniers, trailer and so on.

Ok, how about public transportation. Assuming you live in the Bay Area, you are looking at the cost of a bus and Caltrain, Bart, Ace, or Amtrak. So, you are looking at anywhere from $5 to $12 per day for the commuter rail, and couple of dollars per day for the bus if you need a local connection. Assuming the worst, you are looking at $2 for a bus in the south bay, $6 for the Caltrain to San Francisco, and another $1.5 in San Francisco. This twice a day is $19 per day, which in 10 years is about $49,400. But this is the worst case. Also, all public transportation modes have 10 rides or monthly plans. Also, there are commuter tax breaks for the public transport. All these incentives can lower the cost of riding down to couple of $100 per year.

So, according to this, whoever can bike to work should. There is significant saving in that. So even ignoring impact on environment, health, and time, this should be enough motivation for most people to change their transportation habits.

Tags: Bike to Work,Cycling,Driving,math,Public Transportation
Categories: Biking, Environment
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