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There is no 'Free Lunch'
Believe it or not Portland Oregon used to be the most dangerous and corrupt seaport in the USA. This might strike you as odd since Portland is 70 miles inland but it is in fact true.
The US merchant fleet used to set sail from Boston and NYC around Cape Horn up the coast of South America to California, Oregon and Washington where it would trade manufactured goods for furs which it could then sell in the orient for it's weight in gold, yes GOLD.
With the advent of the California Gold Rush ships crews abandoned thier vessels in San Francisco. A ship with-out a crew soon sinks so the ship's capitan quickly learned that he could kidnap a new 'crew' out of Portland OR. and sail for Shainghi, a seven year round trip.
Being "Shanghied" was usually a death sentance for the dupe, but it was a thriving business to provide dupes along the Columbia River and especially in Portland. Local taverns had dead drops installed along thier floors and advertised a "Free Lunch" to draw in hapless suckers who were drugged and shipped-out to slavery.
This entire bit of history is to illustrate that there is no 'Free Lunch'. A sailor jumps ship to get rich in the California gold fields but the ship's captain and the ship's investors are seeking gold in asia so some poor drunken shlub gets drugged and Shanghied out of Portland to slave his life away. Someone (at the bottom) always pays.
All this history brings us (obviously) to the self-powered generator, or more correctly termed the Human powered generator. Lets assume you are wealthy enough to have one of these when the power goes fritz. How long can you pedal this thing? You will quickly want a crew so that you can take a rest and work in turns. How will you pay them? If you have several of these 'Self Powered Generators' how will you control your 'Crew'? When money or food runs short what will happen? Will you enslave them? Or will they control you?
Someone always pays, someone at the bottom, there is no free lunch.
Believe it or not Portland Oregon used to be the most dangerous and corrupt seaport in the USA. This might strike you as odd since Portland is 70 miles inland but it is in fact true.
The US merchant fleet used to set sail from Boston and NYC around Cape Horn up the coast of South America to California, Oregon and Washington where it would trade manufactured goods for furs which it could then sell in the orient for it's weight in gold, yes GOLD.
With the advent of the California Gold Rush ships crews abandoned thier vessels in San Francisco. A ship with-out a crew soon sinks so the ship's capitan quickly learned that he could kidnap a new 'crew' out of Portland OR. and sail for Shainghi, a seven year round trip.
Being "Shanghied" was usually a death sentance for the dupe, but it was a thriving business to provide dupes along the Columbia River and especially in Portland. Local taverns had dead drops installed along thier floors and advertised a "Free Lunch" to draw in hapless suckers who were drugged and shipped-out to slavery.
This entire bit of history is to illustrate that there is no 'Free Lunch'. A sailor jumps ship to get rich in the California gold fields but the ship's captain and the ship's investors are seeking gold in asia so some poor drunken shlub gets drugged and Shanghied out of Portland to slave his life away. Someone (at the bottom) always pays.
All this history brings us (obviously) to the self-powered generator, or more correctly termed the Human powered generator. Lets assume you are wealthy enough to have one of these when the power goes fritz. How long can you pedal this thing? You will quickly want a crew so that you can take a rest and work in turns. How will you pay them? If you have several of these 'Self Powered Generators' how will you control your 'Crew'? When money or food runs short what will happen? Will you enslave them? Or will they control you?
Someone always pays, someone at the bottom, there is no free lunch.
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