Tag: fun

Sustainability Month 2023: E-Bike vs. Car

Wowza, it’s that time of year again where I talk about sustainability. Could it be about the environment? Investing? Life Style? All three? Who knows but it’s been a successful series and I have more to talk about this year.

E-bike

So I haven’t been driving in a couple years! In 2019 I bought a Rad Power Bike (still not an ambassador) and while at the time I bought it because I liked riding scooters downtown, the value has only gone up over the years; try saying that about your pickup, I dare you.

The Benefits

For me, it was a one and done. I paid for the bike in full and thus owned the bike. All said and done, it was around $1800 for fenders, a basket, a nice helmet, and of course the bike. I could have done monthly payments but I didn’t want to deal with the headache. Now E-bikes are fairly common but in 2019 they were something you only saw every once and a while. And in 2019, gas was a lot a cheaper.

Benefit one

Cheaper than gas. That’s right, I could pay a few hundred a month in gas or ride an E-Bike. Even electric cars need to be charged often and not everywhere has a charging station. My bike battery can get about 20 miles on full throttle, going 20 miles an hour. For city commuting, this will get you where you need in a decent timeframe. And it takes about 6 to 8 hours to charge. If I use peddle assist, I get 40 miles (and more) per charge and speeds that far surpass a normal biker with no effort exerted on your part (I tested this on my brother).

Benefit two

Exercise. Yes, you heard me right; you get to have your cake and eat it to (not literally, of course). Most commutes will be a mix of peddle assist and throttle, so prepare to work those calves. In a car, you sit. That’s it. No wind in your hair, no nothing. You sit and think about your life choices.

Benfit Three

They do not take up space. This has immediate impact. If you have a house (so no one) you can put the bike in a corner of your garage and use all that space for… Whatever you want! Woodworking? No problem. Set up a painting studio? You got it? Man Cave? Bam, it’s there. Now, big picture. You take up less space on the road and guess what? You have your seats filled. Cars are funny in the sense that a lot are built to have more than one person in them but 90% of the time people are driving alone. No carpooling, just driving alone. If you don’t believe me, go stare at a car passing you the next you’re on a run or walk. You are more likely to see one person than a car filled with people; crazy! Now imagine if society shifted to majority of people biking. Less space taken up means no need for eight lane highways and we can put back what was there before. Which, if you were wondering were houses, libraries, and schools; you know, things society actually needs.

Wow, another paragraph. It doesn’t stop there. Less cars means no need for massive parking lots, which in turn could be parks and plazas; you know, places for people to gather socially. I know, I know, I’m talking like a madman right now. If I’m not careful, I might say that if we just shut down entire blocks to traffic, it’ll actually make people happier and drive up revenue for local businesses. Gross!

Benefit four

You don’t kill people. That’s right, less cars means less death. Turns out supersizing your pickup is actually dangerous to kids and people who weren’t born six feet tall. Do you need a large pickup in a city? No, no you fucking don’t. Are you hauling lumber? Hay bales? Towing a truck? No, you’re just driving? Good job. You’ve just spent a bunch in gas and made the oil corporations very happy as well as the car lobbyist. If your truck takes up two spots in a parking, maybe you are the problem.

Benefit Five

No monthly payments (unless you didn’t pay in full). That’s right, they’re cheap. You don’t need to take out an expensive car loan to purchase one (I see you tesla drivers!). That saves roughly $500 a month give or take. On top of that, no bike insurance! That saves you another $150. That is investing money right there or rent (just kidding) or groceries (for a couple months). Cars are an extremely poor investment, I’m telling you. And if you have no commute, you literally just have a hunk of metal sitting around losing value every second it exists. If you need a car, guess what, lyft is probably cheaper or better yet, for that one trip, get a rental.

Benefit Six

They don’t pollute. Obviously, there is the cost of manufacturing. Trucks drive, materials get shaped into batteries, etc. But from my understanding, there is less of an environmental impact than the manufacturing of electric cars. And of course, when you ride your bike, zero emission. So you can feel good as you ride your E-bike. Driving a car, even a Tesla, not so much. You are stuck in traffic, wasting gas and if someone builds you a new lane, you just get more cars on the road. So enough, let’s start acting like Europeans. Cars don’t make economic sense and they’ve made America a beautiful Hellscape of pavement and broken dreams.

Benefit Seven

They’re just fun. They are fun to ride. Unlike a normal bike, you do not have to worry about dying in a pool of your own sweat. You can ride your bike and just enjoy the ride. Want a long bike ride? Use peddle assist at the lower levels and you can go 40 miles. Want to get groceries? Throttle up and enjoy the wind in your hair. However you ride, it is your choice to make. You know what doesn’t have congestion? Bike lanes. So ride on.

So that’s E-bike’s in a nutshell. There are really no downsides to owning one. The older models can be a little heavy but that just saves you a gym membership right there. For a sustainable future, I truly believe this is it. Get an E-bike and society will adjust. Imagine all the money you’ll save and imagine a world where walking and biking are the norm.

The Church: A short story by Mike Cole

The church had existed since the early 1600s, having been established when Walden was built. As time passed, so did the church. Vines grew and the church stood abandoned, waiting. The boards creaked, and the walls began to blister. No one could remember if there had been any worship there but assumed there had. The grass in the yard was overgrown and weeds grew aplenty. The gate was locked but the cast iron fence had since rusted, giving entrance to a place no one would go. Occasionally the bell would ring, however, not to any frequency that the average church goer was accustomed. The bell would always ring at 3am and those who were awoken from their slumber say that on cold nights they could see a light flickering by the altar. At 3:01am the bell would stop and the light would dissipate. If one looked closely, they might have seen a dark shadow and heard the old, rotting boards creak but perhaps that was nothing. On foggy nights where the moon shun full, it is said the bell grew louder and the sound came closer to town. Some say humming could be heard on these nights, growing louder with the bell and coming to an end on the 33rd chime, on the 33rd minute of the 3rd hour. Town gossip, perhaps, but the fact remained, no one ever went near the old church.

And that’s a wrap! For the entire month, I am dedicating this month to all that goes bump in the night. This month is shaping up to be a month of short stories as I practice my writing in different genres. Horror is fun but extremely difficult to write, so please let me know what you think! If you enjoyed this article, consider liking, following and sharing my blog! If you want to support me as a creator, below is a link to my Ko-Fi and Patreon pages!

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Your donation helps quite a bit and I appreciate everyone who is currently supporting or supported in the past! With that said, please let me know what you think! I welcome all feedback!

Hades: A short story by Mike Cole

Hell. A place long forgotten, a land of dead Gods. Tales have existed since the dawn of civilization. His search was over; the long forgotten forest had been found. A lifetime of research had led him here, an insignificant forest located on the Underbelly of Volcán Wolf, thought to be the Oceans end. The land was scorched and the ground gave a molten hue. Embers sprinkled the landscape and lava poured from the volcano into the Ocean, creating steam as the heat touched the surface of the water. The sun was beginning to set and as it hit the scattered boulders with a crimson glow, he thought he could very well be among the land of the dead. Night enshrouded the island.

With a torch in hand, he kept moving. He could feel death creeping slowly and every now and again he would see a shadow move out of the corner of his eye. He walked through the charred forest until he reached the cliffside, jagged rocks awaiting him below. He slowly began his descent.

The Ocean greeted him as he walked down the narrow cliffside, finding it strange that a path had seemingly been carved into the rock. Lava began flowing from the cliff above and violently splashed down unto him; he felt a searing pain in his right arm. His flesh began to burn and melt. A wave crashed and his arm turned to steam. When the mist cleared, his arm was bone save for a few tendons still attached. He didn’t much feel the pain, adrenaline having done it’s work. As he got closer to the water, snow began to fall; how odd. Fire and Ice, two entities that typically don’t coexist. The snow swirled, blinding his vision and he awoke in a cold sweat. He did not remember drifting off and the ever present snow was gone; had it only been a dream? The wind whistled in a tone that almost sounded like whispers and rain began to pour; soon, thunder and lightning would follow. He entered a cave near the volcano.

Water fell on his head. It felt warm. As he went to wipe it off it lingered on his hand, refusing to yield. He moved his torch so he could see what appeared to be a red substance, with a smell of iron. He heard rushing water and looked to his right. A red river? He blinked and the water was crystal blue. Was he dreaming or was he awake? Thunder struck outside and the rain howled with the wind. The howling grew louder and louder, no longer seemingly coming from outside but rather deep within the cave. The torch flickered as a gust caught hold and the shadows danced around him. Three heads began to form; the Torch went out and there was silence.

And thus October has begun. As the blog continues to grow, I am grateful for the support. I enjoy writing and have been thrilled my poetry and short stories have been so well received. As I’ve brainstormed ideas for the blog, I decided on a month dedicated to the spooky and supernatural. This will be the first of hopefully many Octobers where I focus on the scary and the beauty of the changing of seasons. I hope you all enjoyed this short story inspired by Greek mythology! As a reminder, if you would like to support me as a creator, below is a link to my Patreon and Ko-Fi pages!

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If you like my content, consider following, liking, and sharing with others who might enjoy. And as always, thanks for reading! What are you most excited about for the month of October? What are you doing to celebrate the season? Let me know in the comments below!

Mike Cole’s deep dark secret: What I did cannot be undone

It started with a simple idea, a comment made by a friend, jokingly. She was talking about her trip to Ireland and made the odd remark, “I only date men who shave their armpits”. For the sake of accuracy, I must confess, this was almost 4 years ago, when I was but a Freshman in College. And it could very well have been another friend telling the story. Regardless, that’s besides the point, the idea remained. An idea long forgotten until I traveled to Germany for my last great college adventure and went to the store for the first time…

At the store, I decided to buy deodorant as any clean, well kempt man should do. To my horror, the deodorant was tiny! This simple difference changed the course of my German experience forever as I was haunted by the question, “why”? The argument can be made that everything is bigger and better in America, so we simply get more, yet, somehow, I found that answer to be less than satisfying. So I dug deeper and 2 months later I found my answer; it wasn’t just Germany, it was Europe. Everywhere I went the deodorant was tiny! At this moment, I knew I was onto something big.

At this point in my journey I had traveled all across Europe, blending in as I said “Ich bin ein Genie” and “Ich bin müde”, two of my favorite phrases. But none of this got me any closer to an answer. Until one day, when one of the German students was repulsed after seeing armpit hair on an American. The dots began to connect and it all made sense. Europeans shave their armpits. Men and Women alike. And just like that, the mystery was solved. Less armpit hair means less deodorant and quite honestly means people in Europe as a whole smell nicer. That night I slept like a baby and didn’t think much of it; yet my tale does not end there.

Many believe that there was only New Hair, New Mike; a rebirth of a person as he chopped his mop and become the product of envy among men and the epitome of desire for women [insert winky face here]. Yet I was curious. Driven to the brink of insanity towards the end of my 4 months, I did the unthinkable. I took my dull razor (worn thin from months of shaving my hefty beard) and went straight for my armpits. Yes, I, Mike Cole, in an effort to be fully immersed in European culture, shaved my armpits. And worse? I liked it. I felt clean and free much like when I shaved my hair for the first time. And then I got a rash… Fun fact, armpits are fairly sensitive, so don’t use a dull razor blade. Fast forward to present day. The year is 2018 and I’ve perfected my technique. Electric trimmer, shaving cream, then razor and you’re done! Note, if your skin is extra sensitive, use skin lotion after shaving to prevent irritation. Ahem, anyways…

It’s been done; a secret I thought I would carry to my grave, a sin now to be judged by my fellow American (and my lovely international audience). So why talk about it? Is it because I am currently reworking how I write and needed something to post? Partly! But more than that, armpit hair is actually disgusting when you think about it. It catches sweat and even if we slather on deodorant, it still drips and is absolutely gross. Shaving fixes this problem and you get to use less deodorant (which means you save money!), so go ahead, don’t be shy; shave and watch a miracle happen.

Thanks for reading! A quick announcement; I am a recent college grad or aka a broke person. As such I created a Patreon to help support myself. A dollar a month means I can buy a lot of rice and perhaps not starve to death. And thank you to my first donor, who pledged $5 per month; it means a lot and it’ll be exciting to expand the blog with the money.

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