Incredibly bad look for this community.

[RockyTop]

I don't know if anyone noticed this. About four weeks ago California asked people to stop charging their electric cars 5-10 pm because they do not have enough power. Likely a summer thing. Too many ACs running? Not enough unreliable energies? 

 

[Paulo Mesquita]

1 hour ago, winterwheel said:

This is far more to disturbing to me than pretty much anything else that has been said here, or any of the associated videos. But people seem relatively okay with it.

It's unforgiveable to scare a little girl, but okay to destroy the planet she hopes to live in.

@winterwheel, I suspect you didn't grasp the irony of @ShanesPlanet comment. He is actualy putting the finger on the wound and cinically stating that WE ALL are leaving a carbon footprint with our battery operated EUCs. He's calling as it is and I'm sure that Shane cares about the planet and is only pointing out, in his very raw and unique way, his own part in it... and ours.

The cigarette is the final touch: his and our indifference. 😉

[Paulo Mesquita]

41 minutes ago, OldFartRides said:

If I may, Shane is just being brutally honest about what (he) WE are ALL doing by participating in “modern” life, ie “consuming” our planet (living the dream). 
Some people are conscious of the truth, and some people ignore or deny the truth.

Shane spaeketh the truth.

Edit: And, smoking could be construed as a slow form of suicide, and or doing a “solid” for the planet.

Exactly. Some may not grasp @ShanesPlanetcinicysm thought which he always speaks raw truth.

We should ask re-start smoking and help Mother Earth get rid of us faster. 😁😁😁😁

[Flying W]

@RockyTop out here in CA the drought has reached a point where we lost hydro power generation at the Oroville dam. Others will follow suit I'm sure too. 

We need a serious rain dance out here! 

[RockyTop]

1 hour ago, Flying W said:

@RockyTop out here in CA the drought has reached a point where we lost hydro power generation at the Oroville dam. Others will follow suit I'm sure too. 

We need a serious rain dance out here! 

Good point. However scientists going back 200 years have said that there is just not enough water on the west coast to support much of a population. No one has listened. Instead we have diverted the very limited water supply out into the desert to convert desert into farmland. Now that we are running out of water the farmland is reverting back to desert and we are acting like this is unnatural. ...... Some people  have very short memory.

I can just imagine some people watching a person swing on a swing set. ...... OMG!!!! They just randomly changed direction! ( 2 seconds later) OMG!!! They just randomly charged direction!! 

[shellac]

20 hours ago, Flying W said:

Nothing more to add, just doing my part to get us a little closer to 100 pages 

 

[.....]

4 hours ago, Paulo Mesquita said:

@winterwheel, I suspect you didn't grasp the irony of @ShanesPlanet comment. He is actualy putting the finger on the wound and cinically stating that WE ALL are leaving a carbon footprint with our battery operated EUCs. He's calling as it is and I'm sure that Shane cares about the planet and is only pointing out, in his very raw and unique way, his own part in it... and ours.

The cigarette is the final touch: his and our indifference. 😉

Perhaps a poor choice of words I used, but don't we somewhat expect me to do so? It does bother me that I am part of the problem. It also bothers me that I havent enough compassion in my character to be able to say that I DONT abuse the planet and be honest in saying so. I was born into a lifestyle that put humans first and the planet second. I honestly don't know how we could quit using up the planet in a way that cant be undone. I like to think population control is the first stage, but it goes against the very grain of freedom of reproduction. Yes, the way we 'destroy' the planet IS a disturbing thing. Its also distrubing that some of us choose to directly destroy our own species and the animals that inhabit it with us. My attempt was to merely point out that even uppity people who look down their noses at us meat eating, gas guzzling humans, are also part of the very problem as they view the rest of us with scorn. The only thing that bothers me worse than knowing I am part of the problem, is hipocrites that try to pretend that they arent. Driving an electric vehicle that relies on mining ore, formulating plastics and polluting the environs with tires and chemicals, is NOT enough cause to pat yourself on the back and pretend you are doing something 'good' for the planet. Whos doing the world less damage, a person who buys a new fancy 'green' car every 3 yrs, or the person who drives a car for 30+ years in an attempt to minimize the resources used in making another entire vehicle? Reuse vs new, vs recycle, who's the bad guy? Some of us are just plain owning up to the devastation we cause. I aint saying its right at all, Im just saying that if you think you arent part of the problem, you are simply lying on top of it all. I wonder, how 'responsible' is it being, to live in an area that cannot sustain human life without redirecting water, shipping in foods and basically reshaping the landscape? How responsible is it to ignore the obvious and still have children that increase an existing problem? How about using up ALL the local resources and then just moving to another area to help rid them of theirs faster too? What about buying devices from a country that is KNOWN to have little  regard for manufacturing cleanliness? I'd say that my loose (filterless) tobacco my 30 yr old car and my euc, is only a tiny part of a much larger and more sinister picture.

Have I left anyone out? If you arent offended, you probably should be. Its not nice to blame people for things....

Yup, smoking IS a slow form of suicide. It helps some farmers and hurts the user. it pollutes the air but lessens the population. Smoking is one of the pleasures that is somewhat still legal and that allows us to directly harm ourselves in the pursuit of enjoyment. If people are allowed to be obese, I should be allowed to smoke. They are and I do... I'd suspect some of the joy I get from smoking includes the disdain of others and the fact they cant do sh*t about it.

49 pages to go, im quite impressed!  The derail train has left the station and is picking up speed... At least its not a steam engine anymore, its  an environementally friendly electric train...

Edited August 8, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Planemo]

3 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Driving an electric vehicle that relies on mining ore, formulating plastics and polluting the environs with tires and chemicals, is NOT enough cause to pat yourself on the back and pretend you are doing something 'good' for the planet.

Especially when many, many people (including myself) ride for pleasure only. I don't need an EUC for anything. I couldn't use one for commuting even if I wanted to because the route would be pretty likely to get me nicked. So the wheel for me, and I suspect many others, is nothing other than a plaything. A trinket. A big carbon footprint (for production) that isn't necessary for my life needs. I feel bad. I shall go and flail myself immediately.

In general though, I do have a very low carbon footprint and I do a lot more than many others to recycle etc. No wastage in my house either, can't afford to

[mrelwood]

9 hours ago, winterwheel said:

This is far more to disturbing to me than pretty much anything else that has been said here, or any of the associated videos. But people seem relatively okay with it.

It's unforgiveable to scare a little girl, but okay to destroy the planet she hopes to live in.

Of course it’s not okay. @ShanesPlanet didn’t say it was. But do you really see yourself not doing the same?

I sincerely LOVE the way @ShanesPlanet is brutally honest about everything, and is also smart enough to have thought things through. His output is just very un-American. There’s actually something quite Finnish about the direct and raw mentality of saying things as they are, without a slightest hint of any sugarcoating … 

[Paul A]

Shane helps a lot of members here with their EUC problems, insightful observations, frank expressions.  

First world advanced countries are consuming much more than third world underdeveloped countries.  

Not sure scaring a little girl description acknowledges the severity. 

That high speed, the incredible proximity, intentional going through a red light, other pedestrians also already on the crossing.  

It could have been quite a few people killed or seriously injured.

The very disturbing attitudes in the comments of some who did not think it was a problem because no one was injured.

Thank you to Shane for his brutal honesty at times.

[Arbolest]

4 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Perhaps a poor choice of words I used, but don't we somewhat expect me to do so? It does bother me that I am part of the problem. It also bothers me that I havent enough compassion in my character to be able to say that I DONT abuse the planet and be honest in saying so. I was born into a lifestyle that put humans first and the planet second. I honestly don't know how we could quit using up the planet in a way that cant be undone. I like to think population control is the first stage, but it goes against the very grain of freedom of reproduction. Yes, the way we 'destroy' the planet IS a disturbing thing. Its also distrubing that some of us choose to directly destroy our own species and the animals that inhabit it with us. My attempt was to merely point out that even uppity people who look down their noses at us meat eating, gas guzzling humans, are also part of the very problem as they view the rest of us with scorn. The only thing that bothers me worse than knowing I am part of the problem, is hipocrites that try to pretend that they arent. Driving an electric vehicle that relies on mining ore, formulating plastics and polluting the environs with tires and chemicals, is NOT enough cause to pat yourself on the back and pretend you are doing something 'good' for the planet. Whos doing the world less damage, a person who buys a new fancy 'green' car every 3 yrs, or the person who drives a car for 30+ years in an attempt to minimize the resources used in making another entire vehicle? Reuse vs new, vs recycle, who's the bad guy? Some of us are just plain owning up to the devastation we cause. I aint saying its right at all, Im just saying that if you think you arent part of the problem, you are simply lying on top of it all. I wonder, how 'responsible' is it being, to live in an area that cannot sustain human life without redirecting water, shipping in foods and basically reshaping the landscape? How responsible is it to ignore the obvious and still have children that increase an existing problem? How about using up ALL the local resources and then just moving to another area to help rid them of theirs faster too? What about buying devices from a country that is KNOWN to have little  regard for manufacturing cleanliness? I'd say that my loose (filterless) tobacco my 30 yr old car and my euc, is only a tiny part of a much larger and more sinister picture.

Have I left anyone out? If you arent offended, you probably should be. Its not nice to blame people for things....

Yup, smoking IS a slow form of suicide. It helps some farmers and hurts the user. it pollutes the air but lessens the population. Smoking is one of the pleasures that is somewhat still legal and that allows us to directly harm ourselves in the pursuit of enjoyment. If people are allowed to be obese, I should be allowed to smoke. They are and I do... I'd suspect some of the joy I get from smoking includes the disdain of others and the fact they cant do sh*t about it.

49 pages to go, im quite impressed!  The derail train has left the station and is picking up speed... At least its not a steam engine anymore, its  an environementally friendly electric train...

 

 *much applause*

[Tawpie]

We will never make 100 pages if we can’t get onto something that makes blood boil.

Since this thread started because there is concern about the alley cats potentially becoming the face of EUC riders, how about this: I nominate @ShanesPlanet to be our official spokesmodel, you know… the image of the community. His photo on the cover might not sell many copies of Time magazine, and I have no idea if his cigarettes are that oh so necessary silly millimeter longer, but he owns three of the four manufacturers’ wheels, knows when not to swear, can do a Sherman rim swap solo, ride a scooter, fly a paramotor, composes music, do 4 (or was it 5?) circles backwards, has received the only mini-Nobel prize ever awarded, rocks the stealth black power ranger look alongside the cowboy hat and tee shirt, designs and makes accessories, and is proud to include locally produced plant based products in his daily regimen. In my book, that’s an front man.

Other nominations? How do we want the world to see us?
 

(I’m no good BTW… foolish/crazy geezer dressed like a day glo idiot, grinning and waving at everybody while wobbling around on some weird beat up luggage thing he’s got wrapped up in an old blue wetsuit is NOT the look we’re going for. Promise)

And. I’m actually kind of serious. How do we want ourselves to be perceived by the general public? Eco heros? Daredevils? Cirque de Soleil rejects? ???

Edited August 9, 2021 by Tawpie

[Scottie]

34 minutes ago, Tawpie said:

old blue wetsuit

... a very well made old blue wetsuit

[Flying W]

11 hours ago, RockyTop said:

Good point. However scientists going back 200 years have said that there is just not enough water on the west coast to support much of a population. No one has listened. Instead we have diverted the very limited water supply out into the desert to convert desert into farmland. Now that we are running out of water the farmland is reverting back to desert and we are acting like this is unnatural. ...... Some people  have very short memory.

100yrs ago when they allocated the Colorado River water they gave too much, and it was an unusually wet period. Then a few decades later (maybe more maybe less my memory isn't what it used to be) they allocated more to the native American tribal lands. 

Being born and raised amd still living in socal my whole life has been lived in a tera formed landscape made possible by bringing in water that we never had here. 

On one hand it's amazing engineering, on the other it's not sustainable long term. 

6 hours ago, mrelwood said:

 @ShanesPlanet

I sincerely LOVE the way @ShanesPlanet is brutally honest about everything, and is also smart enough to have thought things through. His output is just very un-American. 

Shane's a sovereign planet that happened to crash land in America.

[.....]

Well crap, that isnt going to make us 100 pages and where is the outrage? There is NO WAY you want me as the face of Unicycles. I am a very selfish person and tend to bend the rules as much as I can. When I cant bend them... I admit nothing. Its a cautious dance to walk, when the code of ethics that you follow are fluid and defined by yourself(well, I got a book that tells me as well, but we damn sure aint going there!).

Lest we forget, my ENTIRE beef with the alleycat race, was that it was simply publicized. There is no outrage from me. There is no anger that I think the guys in NYC are going to somehow change the inevitable. My distaste is merely for flagrant in your face activity that will rile up people who make decisions about cracking down on a device I enjoy freely as a toy. DO I think I SHOULD be able to use an EUC freely as I do? Well, yes and no. With current law in place and the reasons being what they are, I cannot deny that the euc is basically being overlooked at best and tolerated. In all fairness, riding an euc on a public street as it were a motorized vehicle, puts it squarely in the "accountability required" category. Am I going to stop riding on the street because I know that I'm exploting a loophole and am being overlooked? Uh no! Again, I am selfish and I justify my euc use and behavior to suit my desire and 'ethics'. However, I dont always stay on ShanesPlanet, and am well aware that MY personal code of ethics does not override the legal code of conduct. Luckily 'legal intent' isnt quite set in stone, so I rely on the grey area until my behavior is well defined. When an euc becomes illegal to ride on ym streets, will I stop? This all depends. It depends on enforcement and penalties. I wont admit that YES I would knowingly break the law, but I wont lie to everyone and say its not a possibility. I average 2 seatbelt tickets a year, does this indicate a pattern of thought perhaps? This behavior is somewhat antisocial and I do agree that it can be unacceptable. It is what it is. SO basicaly, you DO NOT want me as an ambassador. My philosophies are typically not sustainable and I doubt they scale up fairly well.  Hell, I often wonder if MY videos could be contrued as having a negative effect or endangering others in an unacceptable manner. When the way I choose to conduct myself becomes a liability to myself or evidence that could warrant prosecution, you wont see any more videos. Just because you dont see the videos, doesnt mean it aint still happening.

When a common question that gets asked is:  "Is that legal?"  Be worried as it soon may not be...

Edited August 9, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[UniMe]

I will say I have seen an EUC rider in my area in the bike lanes doing well over 40kmh. He was obviously fast, last time I saw him a car was trying to turn right and seemed confused that the rider was keeping pace with them. This is how problems happen. It's also interesting how big a person standing upright doing 45k plus looks, laden with gear.

If the EUCs keep getting faster, and riders obviously travel faster than the speed limited ebikes and person powered riders, it's just a mater of time before we get punted. It was a good thing for me to see actually, I'm going to set my beeper around 38 for any in city travel just to ensure I'm not drawing too much attention.

Edited August 9, 2021 by UniMe

[Paul A]

Should the video be forwarded to the NYPD?

[.....]

13 minutes ago, Paul A said:

Should the video be forwarded to the NYPD?

Snitches get stitches...

No injuries, no hit and run, no property damage...no reason to even consider such a thing imho... 

Edited August 9, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[The Fat Unicyclist]

1 hour ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Well crap, that isnt going to make us 100 pages and where is the outrage? There is NO WAY you want me as the face of Unicycles.

For maximum outrage and to keep your face "unnoticed" perhaps you should try riding in a pink tutu!

I would be both offended and unable to look you in the face...

And for everyone out there with a good pictorial imagination - remember, you can't unsee what just popped into your brain. 

With that video and a few "cross-forum" posts, we should be well on the way to 100 pages.    

[Darren Crosbie-Rowlands]

2 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

For maximum outrage and to keep your face "unnoticed" perhaps you should try riding in a pink tutu!

I would be both offended and unable to look you in the face...

And for everyone out there with a good pictorial imagination - remember, you can't unsee what just popped into your brain. 

With that video and a few "cross-forum" posts, we should be well on the way to 100 pages.    

I threw up in my mouth just a little bit when i pictured that 🤮

[winterwheel]

Maybe the EUC community should have a world-wide pink tutu day. If we could get a few thousand of us in a few different countries all doing it at the same time... everyone would know about electric unicycles within 24 hours of something like that. 

[RockyTop]

44 minutes ago, winterwheel said:

Maybe the EUC community should have a world-wide pink tutu day. If we could get a few thousand of us in a few different countries all doing it at the same time... everyone would know about electric unicycles within 24 hours of something like that. 

Sure! ....... What if it doesn’t make the news tho? ......The locals would think, ”Now that weirdo on the electric unicycle is wearing a pink tutu. I knew that boy ain’t right” 

[Tawpie]

16 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

I knew that boy ain’t right

Bingo. The eccentric old coot. That's who I want to be!

I've started weekend tooling around on the MTen picking up garbage–we live close to a very popular public beach and many folk prefer to not clutter the insides of their vehicles with beverage containers, food wrappers, masks and the like so they donate them to the hood. Adding a tutu to the getup would make me seem less dangerous. Could say it's camo.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Tawpie

[winterwheel]

19 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Perhaps a poor choice of words I used, but don't we somewhat expect me to do so? It does bother me that I am part of the problem. It also bothers me that I havent enough compassion in my character to be able to say that I DONT abuse the planet and be honest in saying so. I was born into a lifestyle that put humans first and the planet second. I honestly don't know how we could quit using up the planet in a way that cant be undone. I like to think population control is the first stage, but it goes against the very grain of freedom of reproduction. Yes, the way we 'destroy' the planet IS a disturbing thing. Its also distrubing that some of us choose to directly destroy our own species and the animals that inhabit it with us. My attempt was to merely point out that even uppity people who look down their noses at us meat eating, gas guzzling humans, are also part of the very problem as they view the rest of us with scorn. The only thing that bothers me worse than knowing I am part of the problem, is hipocrites that try to pretend that they arent. Driving an electric vehicle that relies on mining ore, formulating plastics and polluting the environs with tires and chemicals, is NOT enough cause to pat yourself on the back and pretend you are doing something 'good' for the planet. Whos doing the world less damage, a person who buys a new fancy 'green' car every 3 yrs, or the person who drives a car for 30+ years in an attempt to minimize the resources used in making another entire vehicle? Reuse vs new, vs recycle, who's the bad guy? Some of us are just plain owning up to the devastation we cause. I aint saying its right at all, Im just saying that if you think you arent part of the problem, you are simply lying on top of it all. I wonder, how 'responsible' is it being, to live in an area that cannot sustain human life without redirecting water, shipping in foods and basically reshaping the landscape? How responsible is it to ignore the obvious and still have children that increase an existing problem? How about using up ALL the local resources and then just moving to another area to help rid them of theirs faster too? What about buying devices from a country that is KNOWN to have little  regard for manufacturing cleanliness? I'd say that my loose (filterless) tobacco my 30 yr old car and my euc, is only a tiny part of a much larger and more sinister picture.

Have I left anyone out? If you arent offended, you probably should be. Its not nice to blame people for things....

Yup, smoking IS a slow form of suicide. It helps some farmers and hurts the user. it pollutes the air but lessens the population. Smoking is one of the pleasures that is somewhat still legal and that allows us to directly harm ourselves in the pursuit of enjoyment. If people are allowed to be obese, I should be allowed to smoke. They are and I do... I'd suspect some of the joy I get from smoking includes the disdain of others and the fact they cant do sh*t about it.

49 pages to go, im quite impressed!  The derail train has left the station and is picking up speed... At least its not a steam engine anymore, its  an environementally friendly electric train...

The problem with all of this is it just rationalizing doing nothing at all. 

If everyone does something, even something small, we'll begin to make headway on problems.

It's reasonable to work on some super-critical problems today, even knowing that other problems remain to be addressed later.

[Paul A]

World Resources Institute

https://www.wri.org/

Founded: 1982

Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

Expenses: 114 million USD

 

Non-profit organization

WRI works across a global network to develop practical solutions that improve people's lives and protect nature. We have more than 1,200 staff and offices in 12 countries: Brazil, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States

 

WRI is a global research organization that works with governments, businesses, multilateral institutions and civil society groups to develop practical solutions that improve people’s lives and protect nature. We organize our work around seven global challenges: Food, Forests, Water, Energy, Climate, the Ocean and Cities. We analyze these issues through the lenses of our four Centers of Excellence: Business, Economics, Finance and Equity.