A while back, Glen Beck wrote a book Agenda 21, a semi fictional book about how agenda 21 would play out. One of the 'occupations' was riding a stationary bike for your food--IF you produced enough energy for the hive. I used to think a stationary bike with which I could produce some electricity would be a good idea, But I never wanted to be forced to do it. Yesterday I saw an ad, maybe on youtube, for a small stationary bike which could charge your phone as you rode, supposedly. Not sure if it would charge your laptop, but why not? Like everything else we are being led to buy, it seems like a good idea until it's not.
The problem is that you don't really create energy...you merely convert one form into another. So some of the calories you burn that get transferred to the phone's battery must come from food production, transportation and preparation. Of course, if you're already riding the bike for exercise, you may as well capture whatever energy you've converted. You post raises an interesting point. I wonder how much of the cycling energy could be used to charge larger batteries, such as the ones they use for solar.
I have seen some home made generators that powered kitchen appliances but only for the time you were peddling. You could put the energy into a battery if the bike were set up for that. But I don't want someone telling me that I had to peddle. Just like the upcoming digital currency and how they could sanction against people if not doing as they are told. Conspiracy nuts might take off their tin foil hats shortly.
My wife bought a LifeCore recumbent exercise bike quite a few years ago. It has a lot of electronic features but we liked the fact it has no power requirement or batteries. The electronics are powered by the rider’s pedaling activity. No mechanical friction either to wear out, variable resistance is by magnetic means.
Reminds me of a dystopian sci-fi short story I read many years ago (I believe it was written by Frederick Pohl.) It was set in a time where people were given a quota of goods they had to consume in order to keep the economy going. They had to consume a minimum amount of food, go through a minimum number of clothes, wear out a minimum number of appliances, etc. Like so many stories in that genre, things were turned upside-down so that "having more" was actually a burden. In that "life is backwards" story, those who were well-off paid the lesser among us to consume their quota of goods, such that you could tell the rich from the poor because the rich had less and the poor had more.
I remember that story! Couldn't they also give someone a "gift" by agreeing to take one of their possessions? I can see a wedding reception in that setting.....beautifully-wrapped presents which, when unwrapped, have cards in them that say, "I'll take a mixer.....I'll take an iron......I'll take a king-sized set of sheets.....Oh, look! Uncle and Aunt Moneybags are going to take the car! Aren't they the greatest?"
I had an old bike I rigged a 12 volt alternator on. It was just another way to keep my iron nickel 12 volt system batteries topped off while I was reading. I wouldn't recommend it as being dependable way to charge batteries, especially not for seniors. I wrote an article years ago about having a gym with bikes running AC generators and it hooked up to the grid. Gym owners could charge for gym membership and also sell electricity.
People are always commenting on how the Disney empire is run today and saying "If Walt knew what was going on, he'd be spinning in his grave!" A little known fact is that he DOES know and is buried under Cinderella's Castle and hooked up to a generator that powers "It's a Small World", "Space Mountain" and half of "The Country Bear Jamboree". What's more, every time prices are raised for park admissions, they don't have to use fireworks that night, 3/4 of the transformers in the park explode simultaneously.
Of course not, but would it be as funny if I said they were using his ashes as pixie dust to save money?
The term "pixie" dust might fly under the radar. As it is, I think the fairy dust is costing them money.
I have been to Disney world a couple of times. Mostly people will still go after the nuttiness blows over. I won't be going again but it was interesting. Universal Studios is giving them a run for their money and has Super Heroes.
Along the same combined veins of frightening employment And Disney, it might be interesting to know that Disney World and Land do not have employees who work in sight of the general population attending Disney. They have cast members or rather “actors” and those two designations do not fall under any labor laws. One of my X’s was earning extra money by playing Minnie Mouse at Disney World and she hated it because employee benefits like insurance, sick leave etc were nonexistent plus even though the pay got better the longer a person played their part, they started at below minimum wage. And, if one left Disney, there was no employment compensation because Disney didn’t pay into the state Worker’s Compensation Insurance pool. Now, I do not know if things have gotten better but just the other day, I heard a commentary about Disney and the guy referred to an employee as a “cast member” so maybe not?
I know that some number of Disney's "woke" version of the classics have crashed & burned before they have ever been released. I've not heard of Universal Studios being under pressure from the "alternate lifestyle" community, but you know those buggers are there behind the scenes trying to make headway everywhere.
I've know a couple of people who have worked for Disney. Many are hard-core fans who would pay for the honor of dressing as a character.