Eco Transport 2.0: It’s Leaps and Bounds
When I was nine years old – I just knew something along just these lines was in our futuristic future!
My Jetpack: finally! Here it is; invented by German aerospace engineer Alexander Boeck, and first seen (by me) in the Chinese Olympics. Here, finally, on sale in stores near you, at $269; is that new high tech transport!
I am so down for casually commuting to work at 25 miles an hour, and striding nine feet at a time, and loping gracefully along with the occasional leap over a short building or two. All while looking like some kind of robotic gazelle – - and one that is two feet taller than me!
And the carbon footprint of this amazingly delightful form of transport? It’s Zilch!
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Of all the various bionic assisted-mobility options being developed; like those muscles that help nurses lift 300 pound people and that help the military carry incredible weights; this one is the most charming. It adds an almost superhuman grace to mere mortals.
This transportation 2.0 solution builds on the natural way that we bipeds actually do move – (note that there are no wheels in nature) – one leg after the other.
The inventor studied kangaroos to develop his idea. The Powerbock gives humans an artificial Achilles tendon like kangaroos and ostriches have. The 3 foot long springs use the body’s own weight to generate power. Like a trampoline, the spring accumulates, stores and returns the amount of energy put into it.
Powerbocking into our glorious future will help you lose weight, be capable of the most extraordinary feats of athleticism, build strength and reduce cholesterol, flip backwards 20 times in 20 seconds, burn calories five times faster than jogging, leap over cars, scare the bejesus out of passers-by and be part of a craze that’s swept the world from Korea to Canada.
Canada? That’s where it will stop, at the border’s edge. It will never take off in America because in this country, where we’re not allowed to have socialized medicine like the civilized world has, simple injuries can bankrupt you. A broken extremity is an extravagance we can’t afford: $24,139. I know. I broke an ankle few years ago.
Powerbocks cost $269. Or….$24,139. Depends on if you have health insurance or not.
Via Gizmag
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July 31st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Oh my gosh, that looks amazing, I want one!
August 1st, 2009 at 4:05 am
I like the last 2 paragraphs. The author inadvertantly points to why socialized medicine and socialism in general suck. If you do stupid stuff in a free contry, you pay for the consequences and therefore learn to avoid doing stupid stuff. In socialism the punishment for stupidity is redistributed to the responsible folk, leading to more stupidity. I certainly don’t want to pay 24,000 more in taxes so some knucklehead can go out and jump into a wall with kangaroo shoes. I wonder if the author considered that.
August 1st, 2009 at 8:09 am
Don Thorpe has inadvertently pointed out why he is an idiot – and it’s not just the misspelling and typos. A broken ankle doesn’t actually cost $24K, it’s just commercial medicine that charges that much. But you’re right Don, I wish all those idiots who get cancer would just wise up and NOT get cancer, that way us “responsible folk” could just go about our business (reading Ayn Rand books, watching “Dance Your Ass Off”) in peace and quiet… except when we have to fire our shotgun out the trailer window at any startling noise.
August 1st, 2009 at 12:06 pm
That would make for an interesting trip to work.
August 1st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Poor Don. He must be one of those well off rednecks who cant see the writing on the wall.
Any civilized country will provide Healthcare, Education, Food, and Water to it’s citizens. De-facto. My America is the most backward country in the developed world.
August 1st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Well, thank goodness we still have socialized firefighters in America. We are still that civilized.
Our fire stations don’t have to have a skyscraper-full of full-time legally trained paper-pushers on top of them – to battle an entire parasitic industry of “health” insurance companies (like the one that has inserted itself between doctors and patients) just in order to just get paid (on a house by house basis: so inefficient) for each house that catches fire, without having to make a profit as a business, as well.
Firefighters just get paid by the gummint to just get ‘er done. So they can put each fire out for only what it actually costs. Socialized firefighting. So much cheaper.
And how nice for us too, once our house is burning down and we call 911 – not to first have to check that some kind of “firefighter” insurance will actually pay (10 times the cost of) the fire truck coming to put it out!
August 1st, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Sorry Susan, but we don’t have socialized firefighters in this country. We have firefighters who are employed by the LOCAL government, or citizens in the district to fight fires. Many of these fire departments are Co-ops.
In any case, the firefighters in Buffalo, NY are not paid with taxes on the residents of Millersport, OH. There are even areas of this country where you are your own firefighter.
August 1st, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Addendum, for Susan.
Some of these fire companies are actually VOLUNTEERS. They do solicit those in the area hat they cover for equipment but they work without tax support. I lived only a quarter mile from the firehouse that served the city where my post office was located, but my fire protection came from one of these VOLUNTEER fire departments which was located over 2 1/2 miles from my home. The local department would not respond if I had a fire.
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:32 am
I think that firefighters are true heros… too bad I can’t say the same for the doctor that charged me $60 to tell me I that my finger might be broken. (X-rays are extra ;-p)
It looks like you would have to be a super athlete or super foolhardy to use those things. What happens when you turn?
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:26 am
Bobomo: I do always enjoy a post that starts with name calling; It is more often an indication the character of the person posting it, than of the intended target. That being said you do nothing to challenge my assertion that redistributing the problems caused by bad decisions leads to more bad decisions. In addition your example of cancer is a great one to illustrate the flaws in socialized medicine. Look at the survival rates of all different kinds of cancers and you find that if you are unlucky enough to get cancer, you are doubly unlucky if you depend on socialized medicine to cure you. I would much rather bankrupt than dead.
PS: I know that I am dependant on spell check, I guess it comes from years studying technical books rather than poetry. At least it is not as detrimental to my health and well being as being dependant on government.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:36 am
“What happens when you turn?”
Your doctor smiles.
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Firefighters and Doctors are a false analogy, two seperate services that are two different to compare.
Consider:
1) Very, very few of us will ever need to use the services of firefighters. It is easy to distribute the costs. Almost all of us will use lots and lots of medical services, as we age.
2) We have a standard of perfection for doctors, and we will sue for a gajillion dollars if they make a mistake. Firefighters are not liable for malpractice. If one steps in your petunias while putting out your house fire, you live with the fact.
3) Firefighting does not deal with the rehab/repair/rebuild cost. That is 100% private.
In fact, if were to make the analogy accurate, we’d be promoting a public health system that serves only in immediate life threatening issues- you have a heart attack, they save you. All else- on you.
The “other countries do it” standard is also a poor one. The fact that other nations do it does not mean they do it well. It does not mean that given our own unique social structure, we would do it well. The American love of lawsuits means that the primary business of all hospitals- the reason that they cost so much- is not health care. It is lawsuit avoidance. That is more important than actual patient outcomes.
We would do better to change our priorities, capping liability just like liability is capped for the airlines. (It is capped for the airlines mainly because of international agreement- the rest of the world wants no part of American lawsuit crap which would make every seat on every flight cost $2,000 more.) We must also acknowledge that hospital workers are human. They will misinterpret charts, they will misplace information. They have a responsibility to correct the errors, but as long as the slightest error leads to a lottery-like jackpot win for the patient (and more importantly, the patient’s lawyer) the system is hamstrung by our own greed.
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Just to expand on Ben’s point, the analogy with fire fighters is bad is because we don’t expect fire fighters to give our homes thorough exams once or twice a year for free (or a small co-pay). Then if we have a fire, we sue the fire department for negligence.
I believe in a social safety net (every civilized country needs one to pay for the truly unfortunate), but for the able-bodied, health care, like everything else, must be earned.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
This is very cool–like a trampoline built into your shoes–but isn’t a bike a more efficient mode of transportation? You can coast down hills, etc.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:23 am
We don’t need to reform health insurance:
LET PEOPLE DIE!
The health care industry already is implementing this policy. Have pre-existing conditions? No, we won’t insure you because we won’t make any profit off of you.
Get cancer? Gee, you filled out your form incorrectly and forgot to list that treatment for an ear infection 10 years ago.
Doctor says you need this drug because generics have proven ineffective for you? Sorry, we just can’t cover that.
Don’t have $800 a month to cover your monthly premiums? I guess your life just isn’t worth it.
A corporation’s sole reason for existence is to make money, which is fine when you’re talking about digital TVs or fashion hand bags.
You don’t need those goods to survive. You have time to shop around and find the best deals. You’re having chest pains and before the ambulance arrives, do you have time to compare rates at the hospitals in your area?
Right now, insurance companies are gambling with your life. If you are lucky enough to secure a policy and have the money to pay for it, they are *betting* that you will give them enough money to cover their salaries, their lobbying efforts, their premiums to shareholders.
They don’t want you actually access the health care system. If you do, there goes their profits.
So, they put obstacles in your way.
Network providers.
HMO coordinators.
Required referrals and pre-approvals.
Tiered pharmacy benefits.
You know the drill. Insurance companies are right now standing between you and your health care.
Is it right or moral for a company to make a profit on whether you live or die?
Are human beings merely commodities in the corporate marketplace? We need to tell the insurance companies that our lives are NOT for sale. Make your voice heard and make history for human rights.
September 6th, 2009 at 9:27 am
We Canadians don’t want socialist, or even communist, or Marxist/Leninist Universal health care for the Americans to our South! We kinda enjoy the smug feeling of civilized superiority it give us, and we like our unemployment give-aways too! We even have “No-Fault” car insurance, now that’s down right Communist if you ask me! Nobody in Canada “Fvcks the System” we “are” the system, and you get locked up for mental illness if you “Think American” and try to take “unfair advantage!” Yankee Doodle, you’ve got a lot to learn, once your schools are set free from defining everything the “Corporatism” way! As dumbed Down as you are, you’re cute, and we love you anyway! Canada, Sweden, Britain, Norway, all out to help you see the light at the end of the corporate tunnel, and live truly free! PS: Our Emperor really has clothes on!, not like yours at all!
November 8th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Uh… this conversation about socialism, health-care, blah blah blah is nice and all… but we’re missing the important stuff here.
1. Those boots are FRIGGIN SWEET!
2. Where can I buy some?