Join us on Saturday, March 23 at 8:30pm to 9:30pm local time on Tim Hortons oval tracks nationwide!
The Objective: To see how many circuits drivers can complete, ordering one Timbit at a time, within the one hour period allotted. The entry that collects the most Timbits in that hour shall be declared the winner.
| NOTICE: Contestants who order more than one Timbit per circuit will be in violation of contest rules, and shall be disqualified |  |
Readers without a Tim Hortons within driving distance may qualify for the alternate Hour Of Power Award; simply share your Human Achievement Hour story in the comments.
If I’m suitably impressed, I’ll send out some books.
I love how the usage peaks in Ontario precisely during the Gaia Hour!
Starting laundry @ 8pm about the same time wife promised to make chocolate chip cookies. Every light in the house and garage will be on. No Timies within driving range but gotta check out command start on the Chev Silverado and the Wife’s Jeep GC. Love earth hour and get fresh cookies just like last year. To improve from last year we are leaving the Fridge and freezer doors open for a couple hours.
DAMN. Human achievement hour is over. I left the lights on but turned off the vehicles.
Wy wife asked why all the lights were on… I explained ‘because it cost us nothing’. Here’s why…
1. Fridge=593W
2. Freezer=349W
3. Stove (not on)=8W
4. Clock radios, CO2 detector, fire detector,microwave= 49W
5. Furnace (based on winter average consumption)= 230W
6. Normal light load= 800W
Roughly 2kW. 13 cents wholesale, 66cents retail. My net slactivist protest has cost me 2.4+1.08-0.8(lights)= 2.68kW@6cents(avg/hr)X retail mark up= 80cents, while at the exact same time I’m spending 66cents unknowingly.
Surely to God, my 80 cent protest is worth a book or two.
John s said: “So you are going clog up the drive through at your local Tim hortons?”
Who goes to Timmy’s at -night-? Just cops and truckers, around here.
P.S. said: “But driving in circles through Tim Hortons is an arrogant childish misuse of the products of human ingenuity and achievement.”
Yes. Yes, it is. And the fact that I can do this any time I want, even at Earth Hour, means that all the little eco-Nazis in the world still have work to do before this country of mine is completely turned into North Korea.
Kate, extra points for doing it in a diesel? Just think of all the lovely soot…
BTW greenies, did you know the Ford F-250 can spin all four tires at once on dry asphalt? They can! Ask me how I know.
Just to add…. I’ve (for shoots and giggles) calculated how much less heat is contributed to my house by switching from incandescent to ‘twirly’ bulbs. Here are the rough results…
Using 8X100W bulbs over the 6 ‘winter’ months for 8 hours a day, I use about 1.15MW. Based on 2.5% light and 97.5% heat efficiency I must force my furnace to replace about 1.1MW worth of heat. Because I’m rural (and don’t live near a Tim Hortons) I have to use more expensive propane. Ultimately, I save $130 in electricity a year and pay $100 extra on propane… cost of twirly bulbs excluded cuz’ you taxpayers pay for them in government give-aways. Being Scottish I line up multiple times 😉
I want those books!!!!
PS… 10pm price of electricity costs 3.41cents wholesale. Looks like the Hydro One boys are smartnin’ up! Still 0.53cents to go!
As has been mentioned before, over a million people will die this year as a direct result of fossil fuel use. Over 1 million people will die because they are forced to inhale the by products of twigs, dung and wood, in using these to heat their homes and cook with. The women and children will not only spend the time gathering burning material, but, cleaning these by products off their possessions.
In 1977… 1977!!!!… I travelled to Scotland and visited my Uncle and Aunt. He hade a great job at an aluminium facility in a tiny village. Great pay compared to many others. While we were visiting, staying there, we had the TV, stereo, lights, you name it, on. Suddenly everything stopped. The music, the TV, the lights, everything. My Uncle jumped from his chair… my Uncle was the senior most of the family… served in The War, Egypt, Burma. Looked after the ‘wee ains’. He said, and I’ll never forget, “Ach, haftae poot mair money in tha’ meter”. And he put some pound coins into a box on the wall. Here he was, a somebody, a distinguished member of the village… he was dependant on a pay-as-you-go system. If you can’t afford, you do without, like much of the world, if they are indeed that fortunate.
I swore that day, I would never take the luxury of power for granted.
35 miles driven just one gear under top gear to keep the RPMs up on a diesel smoke belching 6MPG truck with enough emission crap hung off her to drive down the fuel mileage and increase the fuel consumption. BEFORE dropping one hole and gouging on it in some hills.
Don’t need the books though unless they are on tape/cd.
I’m cheap… Scotish Jew cheap. I just made a ramp for my 3 1/2 yr old daughters pre-school. A crappy, lousy ramp to help them get in and out of a shed with the kids toys. I made it with junk around my garage, out of pocket $12. They gave me a thank you card and $20. I’m up $8 just being a good guy. I complained about the $20 saying they should have kept the money it would have been better spent on the kids. The operator of the pre-school said “the insurance adjuster who provided the monies under Occupational Health and Welfare asked ‘how did you get a ramp for $20’ “. My question is ‘how not’?
I think the readers here at SDA are indeed “makers”… they just don’t feel the need to crow about it. It’s implicitly understood.
I want those books!!!
Yep.
RedJeff: I grew up in the depression so never take anything for granted. Hopefully, I’m not pompous about it either.
I visited my friends in Scotland in 1967 and 1973 and they did not have a coin box. Also, they did not turn two things on if it could be avoided. One thing, because costs were high over there then. For another they’re Scots and frugal.
They didn’t have a fridge or washer. Yep, food bought daily and washing (for 3 teenagers, husband and wife) done by hand and hung up to dry. Also no car.
Now, would my going back to live like that help those people you spoke of who have to collect twigs and dung for cooking?
I live modestly, and probably more so than you do. I always think of the lifestyles of the rich and famous like Gore and Suzuki and how diligent they are about reducing their extravagances. I’m encouraged by people like that and it makes me want to turn off all my lights when I’m watching TV. Tonight I had to turn on the trilight beside me to keep warm, but maybe no one would begrudge an old woman a warm right arm.
I’m running my laptop on battery to help out also, Jeff. Hope you’re doing the same.
Every light in the house on and found a few burned out lights in the process. 5 Kw of electricity use by electric heaters alone and next have to do a laundry. Was thinking of testing out the air conditioner but just realized that can’t have furnace and air conditioner on at the same time – a problem to be remedied by the next human achievement hour. Not sure when human achievement hour is supposed to be for people like myself who refuse to switch from standard time so I’ll just leave everything on for 2 hours.
Considering how much better I feel with all the lights on, maybe I’ll just keep on doing this until we get the nice long days of summer.
Not home to fire up the lights, stove or air conditioner, but did manage to put through enough gas to get me and the F150 1200 kms away from those hideous mounds of globull warming.
And with no Timmies to antagonize, while trying to access the motel, did manage to re-enter the Interstate and go for an additional 15 km loop. That should count!
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Reading through the comments from March 28, 2010, found gold:
Joe Citizen: “I didn’t know SDA had a contest for the position of village idiot.”
Kate: “I can send you an application if you like, Joe.”
That’s why we love you, Kate. Btw, where is Joe?
Re:gellen replied to comment from Red Jeff
Hey gellen you forgot the /sarc off.
Hah! I just came to bed and turned the laptop on again (still using battery). I’m not going to turn on the electric blanket tonight either. I’ve got socks on to keep my footsies warm. My circulation is poor so don’t want my toes frostbitten.
Do you really think RedJeff needs me to tell him I was being a tiny bit sarcastic?
It was only a tiny bit, mind you.
Saying my prayers so /sarc off…
Lord, please bless all those people who don’t have the luxuries I have. If I can help them in any way, please show me. I can’t go on a mission trip to work with them myself, but I would gladly support a family for a year or assist a mission group in their work. Thank you that I live in Canada, Lord. But, would you whisper in the ears of the Ont. Hydro execs that there are some seniors and low income people out here who need a bit more assistance than they’re giving us? Would you suggest that they give us our hydro at cost, like they do New York? Thank you Jesus, for I know you hear and answer prayer. Amen.
In the comment from Gellen, running the laptop on a battery for an hour only counts if it’s recharged using a bicycle powered generator. Considering how frugal modern low power CPU’s are, turning off an LED light would save far more power. My $200 Android tablet runs for over 6 hours on 1 charge and am really curious how it manages to do this with a tiny battery and wifi on the whole time. This reply is written on an Intel i7 powered “laptop” which can only run at full speed at the S. pole outside during winter. Also, given the power consumption of this beast, the battery is only good for moving it from one power outlet to another without putting it into sleep mode. But then, I need the speed and will see how fast it can crunch Seti@home data without the CPU melting.
Kate’s reply to Joe Citizen – priceless.
Gellen and Loki you guys are the /sarc champs tonight!
Are you serious, Loki? You’re usually much brighter than that.
Being 84 (and a half) and having sciatica I don’t think I’ll attempt to recharge by using a bicycle powered generator, even if I knew where to get one.
But, you’ve missed the point. Who says I’m running my laptop on battery? And why would I? I’m in my house beside a power bar and a wall plug.
I said it, but did I mean it? Was RedJeff really that distressed about all those poor souls scratching for twigs and dung to cook their meals?
We’ll never know, will we?
for no particular reason…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-bcceUT8Wo
I had a couple of extra lights on over my usual consumption tonight, and I opened the curtains to help illuminate the street. Cooked supper in the oven and had the electric fireplace on.
This afternoon I heard on the radio a woman say her family was going to have the lights out and burn candles for earth hour. I haven’t tried to calculate the CO2 use of electric vs. candles, but I am guessing that enough candles to satisfy a family’s light requirement in March likely produces more CO2 than electric lighting, and is certainly more expensive, not to mention a fire hazard.
Buncha dupes.
I didn’t even know Earth Hour was happening until I started browsing the internet this morning. And I submit that being completely ignorant of its occurrence is the best response to Earth Hour.
We celebrate earth hour every day… for 7-8 hours. We call it bedtime
Love it, Sue!
I had to work on a neighbors car so I just turned on all the compressors and welders and even lit up the unused part of the shop. Lit up the whole area. The bonus was that the car belongs to a couple of green freaks! Happy days.
I like the idea, but I have a feeling many Tim’s managers would call the cops and you’d risk getting charged with disorderly conduct or some such.
Still, probably worth it!
Earth Hour is dangerous to life! Driving back to the city last night I realized it was earth hour, so in respect, I turned off my headlights. Was nearly killed by a semi; just missed two other cars and a deer.
For the past couple of years I have completely forgotten about “Earth Hour” until it was too late to celebrate. My neighbours, who religiously observed it only 4 years ago have given up. This year I only remembered it when I went to the local Starbucks, and found that the barrista had turned off most of the lights in the restaurant, (causing havoc with spilled drinks and upset lattes). The place was principally lit by the glow of iPad and MacBook screens.
By the way, why do annoying hipsters always use Apple products?
I took comfort in the thought that my wife had insisted on leaving the all our main floor lights on for the benefit of the dogs, (she hates to think of them being left alone in the dark), but I wished that I had remembered to turn on our Christmas lights before leaving the house.