Human Powered


Book Description

Human Powered is a concise and accessible guide that will help you collaboratively solve problems, resolve conflict and inspire others.




Human-powered Vehicles


Book Description

This is the first comprehensive book ever written about human-powered vehicles (HPVs). Filled with 180 impressive photographs, detailed drawings, and tables, Human Powered Vehicles explains the history of HPVs, offers practical insights into their design, and considers future possibilities of human-powered travel. Allan V. Abbott and David Gordon Wilson, HPV designers and former presidents of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association, have assembled a list of contributors representing a who's who of leaders in human-powered vehicles. They review the development of human-powered water, land, and air vehicles, focusing on the innovations that have significantly improved performance in recent years. Inside this book, you'll find applications of human power in history; a discussion of all major factors that enhance or limit the performance of the "human engine"; design issues for rowing shells, hydrofoils, bicycles, human-powered aircraft, and other HPVs; descriptions of famous human-powered vehicles, such as the Gossamer Condor; and an examination of the economic and environmental advantages of human-powered travel. A fascinating read for bicyclists, inventors, hobbyists, and sports enthusiasts, this book is also an excellent human factors reference for sports medicine and exercise science professionals.




The Human-Powered Home


Book Description

A complete guide to modern pedaled-powered, treadled, and hand-cranked devices for the home. What if I could harness this energy? An unusual question for anyone putting in a long stint on a treadmill perhaps, and yet human power is a very old, practical and empowering alternative to fossil fuels. Replacing motors with muscles can be considered a political act -- an act of self-sufficiency that gains you independence. The Human-Powered Home is a one-of-a-kind compendium of human-powered devices gathered from a unique collection of experts. Enthusiasts point to the advantages of human power: Portable and available on-demand Close connection to the process or product offers more control Improved health and fitness The satisfaction of being able to make do with what is available This book discusses the science and history of human power and examines the common elements of human-powered devices. It offers plans for making specific devices, grouped by area of use, and features dozens of individuals who share technical details and photos of their inventions. For those who want to apply their own ingenuity, or for those who have never heard of human-powered machines, this book is a fine reference. For those who are beginning to understand the importance of a life of reduced dependency on fossil fuels, this book could be a catalyst for change.







Dark Waters (the Expedition Trilogy, Book 1)


Book Description

“This is a delightful and funny adventure ... It is also lonely, dangerous and frightening.”—THE LONDON TIMES He survived a terrifying crocodile attack off Australia’s Queensland coast, blood poisoning in the middle of the Pacific, malaria in Indonesia and China, and acute mountain sickness in the Himalayas. He was hit by a car and left for dead with two broken legs in Colorado, and incarcerated for espionage on the Sudan-Egypt border. The first in a thrilling adventure trilogy, Dark Waters charts one of the longest, most gruelling, yet uplifting and at times irreverently funny journeys in history, circling the world using just the power of the human body, hailed by the London Sunday Times as “The last great first for circumnavigation.” But it was more than just a physical challenge. Prompted by what scientists have dubbed the “perfect storm” as the global population soars to 8.3 billion by 2030, adventurer Jason Lewis used The Expedition to reach out to thousands of schoolchildren, calling attention to our interconnectedness and shared responsibility of an inhabitable Earth for future generations. * * WINNER of the BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AWARD & ERIC HOFFER AWARD * * “Often funny and irreverent, always frank and authentic, Lewis’s first volume of The Expedition series is also marked by the thrills of a first-rate adventure.”—FOREWORD REVIEWS “Skating through Alabama with long hair, duct tape on the nipples, and women’s culottes … What were you thinking?”—JAY LENO, The Tonight Show “A riveting true-life adventure as inspiring as it is thrilling.”—UTNE READER “An extraordinary expedition on an epic scale.”—BEN FOGLE, television presenter and adventurer “Last great first for circumnavigation.”—THE SUNDAY TIMES “Truly a tale for our time. You really smell, taste and breathe this journey in a way that is only possible by travelling more slowly.”—ROYAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY




Gamera


Book Description

"This book is an engineering history of the Gamera Human Powered Helicopter, which was creatively designed, skillfully built, and courageously flown by the students of the University of Maryland"--




Crystal Clear


Book Description

Carefully researched over ten years and eagerly anticipated by the agile community, Crystal Clear: A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams is a lucid and practical introduction to running a successful agile project in your organization. Each chapter illuminates a different important aspect of orchestrating agile projects. Highlights include Attention to the essential human and communication aspects of successful projects Case studies, examples, principles, strategies, techniques, and guiding properties Samples of work products from real-world projects instead of blank templates and toy problems Top strategies used by software teams that excel in delivering quality code in a timely fashion Detailed introduction to emerging best-practice techniques, such as Blitz Planning, Project 360o, and the essential Reflection Workshop Question-and-answer with the author about how he arrived at these recommendations, including where they fit with CMMI, ISO, RUP, XP, and other methodologies A detailed case study, including an ISO auditor's analysis of the project Perhaps the most important contribution this book offers is the Seven Properties of Successful Projects. The author has studied successful agile projects and identified common traits they share. These properties lead your project to success; conversely, their absence endangers your project.




Thirst for Power


Book Description

Although it is widely understood that energy and water are the world’s two most critical resources, their vital interconnections and vulnerabilities are less often recognized. This farsighted book offers a new, holistic way of thinking about energy and water—a big picture approach that reveals the interdependence of the two resources, identifies the seriousness of the challenges, and lays out an optimistic approach with an array of solutions to ensure the continuing sustainability of both. Michael Webber, a leader and teacher in the field of energy technology and policy, explains how energy and water supplies are linked and how problems in either can be crippling for the other. He shows that current population growth, economic growth, climate change, and short-sighted policies are likely to make things worse. Yet, Webber asserts, more integrated planning with long-term sustainability in mind can avert such a daunting future. Combining anecdotes and personal stories with insights into the latest science of energy and water, he identifies a hopeful path toward wise long-range water-energy decisions and a more reliable and abundant future for humanity.




The Immortal Class


Book Description

Travis Hugh Culley came to Chicago to work and live as an artist. He knew he'd have to struggle, but he found that his struggle meant more than hard work and a taste for poverty. In becoming a bike messenger, he found a sense of community and fulfillment and a brotherhood of like-minded individualists. He rode like a postmodern cowboy across the city's landscape; he passed like a shadow through its soaring office towers; he soared like a falcon through the roaring chaos of the multilayered streets of Chicago. He became an invisible man in society, yet at the same time its most intimate observer. In one of the most dangerous jobs on dry land, he found freedom. In The Immortal Class, Culley takes us in-side the heart and soul of an urban icon the bicycle messenger. In describing his own history and those of his peers, he evokes a classic American maverick, deeply woven into the fabric of society from the pits of squalor to the highest reaches of power and privilege yet always resolutely, exuberantly outside. And he celebrates a culture that eschews the motorized vehicle: the cult of human power. The Immortal Class, Culley's vivid evocation of a bicycle messenger's experience and philosophy, sheds a compelling light on the way human beings relate to one another and to the cities we inhabit. Travis Hugh Culley's voice is at once earthy and soaringly poetic a Gen-X Tom Joad at hyperspeed. The Immortal Class is a unique personal and political narrative of a cyclist's life on the street.




Gossamer Odyssey


Book Description

Gossamer Odyssey tells the story of the historic flight of the Gossamer Albatross, a spindly, feather-light craft which on June 2, 1979, became the first human-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel. Author Grosser covers the history of human-powered flight including the various unsuccessful efforts in Europe following World War I as well as programs in England and Japan following World War II. The development and flight of the first successful human-powered aircraft, the "Gossamer Condor, is covered in great detail. Grosser, who was a member of the "Gossamer Albatross team, provides an expert account that is fully accessible to the layperson and demonstrates how the channel crossing was an incredibly challenging undertaking despite the earlier success of the "Condor.