Helmet Cam Footage on Youtube

I have finally gotten the correct cable and a capable computer. I transferred one DV tape with 51 minutes of HELMET CAM footage today. I used iMovie even though I have Final Cut Pro. The results are interesting. This is a starting point and I am happy that the process is working. Hopefully I can find someone to edit the footage at a later date. Until then, I will work with the program and learn as much as I can. I just wanted to get some footage up, so do not judge this little clip too harshly. This was a trip to Jimbo's Natural Food Store in Rancho Bernard a few weeks ago. We used a short cut we had found. Speaking of short cuts, I used Google Maps Friday and noticed that there is a directions for walking route feature. But it does not locate or use shortcuts that are not roads. Shortcuts would be very useful.

The youtube link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umfXtII96CA

Rain Gauge

We have a rain gauge in the garden. The last storm dropped about an inch and a quarter. This is good for the radishes, onions, lettuce and other stuff growing in our raised planter. One red radish globe is pushing up through the soil, tempting us, telling us it is nearly ready to pull and eat. Austin is proud of his plantings and marvels at their continuing growth. He has become more interested in vegetables and that is good too. I have written Michael Pollan's advice on eating on the chalkboard in the kitchen: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. pics tomorrow

Plant a Meadow Not a Lawn & Limit the Use of Non-Road Engines

Each weekend, about 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines, which have had unregulated emissions until very recently, emit high levels of carbon and other pollutants, producing up to 5% of the nation's air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas.

A typical 3.5 horsepower gas mower, for instance, can emit the same amount of VOCs -- key precursors to smog -- in an hour as a new car driven 340 miles, say industry experts.

The exchange of 1,000 gasoline-powered lawn mowers for electric mowers has the potential of reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 9.8 tons per year, which is equivalent to removing 230 cars from the highways. (From EPA Lawn Equipment)

There are the facts. One of the beautiful things about getting rid of a lawn and planting a meadow, is that a meadow is more enticing for birds and butterflies and other beneficial insects. A meadow is a more complex pattern with changing colors and motion from breezes. But some of these meadow grasses can be walked and played on. There is no need to give up functionality because choosing a low growing sedge can produce a similar texture and look of a turf grass lawn. Best of all, meadows are watered and mowed far less frequently and do not require the chemical inputs that turf does.

The goal is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels as much as we can. That is better for us and better for the planet. And it might be more beautiful. Inspiration for this post was John Greenlee, author of The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn

Pasadena, Disney Hall and Watts Towers

I took a road trip to Pasadena to pick up a computer, an iMac Friday. You might wonder how this sansautomobile blog seems to have a fair amount of automobile travel. My PC has been on the decline for quite some time. I dumped $300 into it this past summer. That was pretty much a waste. I have been meaning to return to Apple and now I have. I feel that I am one step closer to processing the Helmet Cam footage I have been collecting for a year and a half. I need one more cable, as the iMac Firewire is different than the PC Firewire. I have Final Cut Pro installed.

After picking up the computer, we drove to the Disney Concert Hall and walked around paying homage to Frank Ghery and his sculpture project which took 16 years to complete and required over 30,000 architectural drawings. Our next stop was Watts Towers, a project on the other end of the design spectrum. The Towers are the result of the efforts and ideas of one man, Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant. He used found objects and spent 30 years building the towers. Both structures are the result of a visionary idea and intense passion and the desire create a monument. Rodia said " I set out to do something big and I did."

Los Angeles is Mecca for the automobile. No other city in the world is as dependent on and is as defined by the automobile. It was rainy and gray and there is an endless line of cars.

Rusty Things

I am not yet riding. My injury is improving, but I still have a lot of pain when trying to grip or squeeze.
My bicycle has a few rusty spots... mostly allen bolts that will hold any moisture. It doesn't help, I suppose, that I store my bicycle outside. Lately, I have found that rust can add value to an object. Maybe not my bicycle, but other things. I have been selling some rusty bed springs that I found while on a hike with Lisa a couple of weeks ago. I dragged the mattress skeleton out of a nearby canyon and separated the springs to photograph and list on eBay. As crazy as it sounds, I have sold more than a dozen RUSTY BED SPRINGS for between $1.50 and $2.00 each. And I am shipping 2 to Europe! I think the term is up-cycle... or re-purpose... anyway the people purchasing these rusted treasures are making something with them. I will be on the look out now, whether riding or hiking, for rusty things.