[Arschloch]

Well to be more precise, it was Buckminster who layed out the path to prosperity as he summarised it in his book "the critical path". The critical path is what makes all the green s#it possible in the first place, so it's an absolutely great idea to torture, extort, f@#ck, black&#&mail anyone who is working towards to that direction. Exactly as the sw@#ish fu#$ing jwz do.

[AzCal Retred]

Derottone#a, can you translate this last communique from Derottone#b? Something concerning about Buckminster Fuller and his book "The Critical Path". This book starts off claiming "Human life began in the atolls of the South Pacific, where the average sea temperature is closest to that of the human body", so I'm not too sure why Derottone#b believes it's the foundation for modern thought. It is interesting though, lots of clever ideas and informed speculation in it. But the same can be said for Clarke, Asimov, Verne, Niven, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Path_(book)
The following is a list of the main claims and opinions presented in the book, reported without discussion or criticism.
Part One ; The first part of the book explains the history and present state of the global economy.
Chapter 1 - Speculative Prehistory of Humanity
Human life began in the atolls of the South Pacific, where the average sea temperature is closest to that of the human body (p. 6). Rather than evolving from simpler organisms, humanity was of extraterrestrial origin and other organisms evolved from us (p. 7). From this base, humanity developed boat-building in Southeast Asia and colonised the rest of the planet (p. 15). There is evidence that the Bronze Age began in Southeast Asia (p. 17). Fuller's Dymaxion World Map is used to show the distribution of humanity over the Earth's surface. Over half the population lives in the regions watered by the Himalayan glaciers (p. 20).
Chapter 2 - Humans in Universe
Our knowledge of the spherical shape of the Earth is central to our understanding of ecology (p. 34). This knowledge probably originated in prehistoric times, was certainly known to the Ancient Greeks, but was then suppressed for centuries by organised religion because it was incompatible with the official story of a Heaven above and a Hell below (p. 43). There has been an evolution of religious ideas from those of the Egyptian pyramid-builders, whose ambition was to deliver a single individual, the pharaoh, into the afterlife, to the modern belief that everybody has a right to enjoy life on Earth (p. 51).

[Arschloch]

Yes, nobody is going to produce or purchase a solarpanel with 3% efficiency when 20% is standard those days, its the essence of what Buckminster is saying.

Now, I don't care if the f@#in sw×÷is p@d0 jwz want to keep riding horses around their stinky farms that produce nothing of value, its not anyone's job to keep paying for it or maintain it for them for free.

[Arschloch]

Electric Bikes anyone....

[AzCal Retred]

...still waiting for Derottone(a) to return...

If you found those last two responses written in a newspaper as quotes, you'd be hard pressed to make any sense of them. What's the point of doing that? It's not communication, just what is it? Where does the clear & concise guy wander off to? Let's get HIM back.

[axman88]

In the UK, bicycles are supposed to follow the same road laws as other users regarding traffic lights etc so there's little benefit to using one over a moped other than running costs (tax/insurance etc).
Moped theft here is very high and (normal) bicycle theft is ridiculous - I've had 2 £1000+ mountain bikes stolen. My current cycle never leaves my sight when I take it out of the shed, which means I can't nip in to town with it. I know that the toe-rags will be off with it in seconds.
I'd love to put an electric rear hub on it but that just makes it more attractive to thieves.

That's unfortunate.  I've heard about this issue, which is supposed to be especially acute in London.

Here in Chicago, it couldn't be more different.  I have started riding my collection of old 3 speed "english racers", and these seem to be positively theft proof, I only occasionally lock one, in particularly exposed areas, but mostly rely on the general laziness of thieves, along with the relatively poor cosmetic condition of the paint to protect them.  One method that seems to work, I'll flip the bike over and leave it upside down, on it's seat and handlebars, an old trick we learned as kids to prevent some other kid from jumping on your bike and riding away faster than you could run him down from behind.

Mopeds have never been officially recognized locally, they don't exist legally and this makes riding one quite awkward, in my view.  They tend to be available used without titles, while the police want to look at them as motorcycles, which, like scooters, require registration.

Bicycles, on the other hand, are just generally ignored.  No registration, no license, no insurance requirements, no restrictions, and this seems to apply equally to those equipped with the 66cc china "whizzer" engines, which can be had in kit form for about $120, complete.  Cops just look the other way.  We have laws on the books that let a bicyclist go through stop signs, and red lights under certain conditions.  It's quite infuriating to the cage drivers.  They will curse the first few times I re-pass them while they wait at the traffic light queus, but by the third or 4th time, they seem to accept it.  I try to ride respectfully and safely.  I'm in my 60s.

[GlennF]

Of course the ironic thing is the US which has plenty of oil is gradually going electric - whereas Australia with almost no local oil and an economy that will collapse in 6 week without continuous oil imports but able to make as much electricity as we want (coal power or green, we have the ability to generate plenty of both) is violently opposed to electric vehicles as "un-Australian" .

[Arschloch]

Of course the ironic thing is the US which has plenty of oil is gradually going electric - whereas Australia with almost no local oil and an economy that will collapse in 6 week without continuous oil imports but able to make as much electricity as we want (coal power or green, we have the ability to generate plenty of both) is violently opposed to electric vehicles as "un-Australian" .

I'm not anti electric vehicles, however I doubt I would want to travel Australia in one. Now that travelling is restricted partially because of the CO2 reduction agenda its probably a non issue anyway. Those restrictions were apparently needed to promote the electric vehicles in a rather marxistic manner if you ask me. Now we are probably expected to love the "global warming" crowd. 

[Nitrowing]

This is what I expected in the 21st century!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2VRqJpQDlU
Also features briefly on here
https://youtu.be/qMOQJL7h42Q?t=440

Now, they're claiming
"0-60 2.5 SECONDS 124MPH 150 MILE RANGE"
http://ballisticcycles.com/

Of course, there's no mention of how much of our dirty money they want for their creation 

[GlennF]

Sails on a Motorcycle:



Though some people go the other way and add a motorcycle to their sailboat:

[Richard230]

There was a fellow who rode his 2012 Zero ZF9 from New York to South America during the winter of 2012. He somehow managed to get as far as southern Brazil before his chassis finally gave up the ghost. He then married a local girl and turned the Zero's batteries and power train into powering a house boat, which had solar panels on its roof to recharge the boat's batteries. The last I heard about the fellow was when he posted a photo on the Electric Motorcycle Forum of the houseboat floating along a large river. At the time he was considering writing a book or internet blog about his adventure, but (to my knowledge) he never did.   

[Arschloch]

Sounds like a decent application for some batteries and solar panels in the middle of nowhere. 

[zimmemr]

One of HD's first attempts at an e-bike.  There's nothing you can't do with a little imagination. 

[Nitrowing]

One of HD's first attempts at an e-bike.  There's nothing you can't do with a little imagination. 

https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/had-harley-davidson-listened-to-one-guy-they-d-have-had-an-electric-bike-40-years-ago-362572.html

[zimmemr]

https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/had-harley-davidson-listened-to-one-guy-they-d-have-had-an-electric-bike-40-years-ago-362572.html

Very cool, thanks for posting that. The image I posted was taken at Wheels of Time museum some years ago. I stumbled on it today while looking for something else. I had no idea the bike anything more than a curiosity.