Billions of dollars are spent every year to reduce the nation's body fat.This is a great amount of potential energy stored throughout the land. Instead of wasting it through diet plans, etc., how can it be used to power shovels, split wood during y2k power outages?

-- energy reversion corps (teleblubber@tv.com), September 23, 1998

Answers

The Y2K Diet! I love it. Get as fat as you can, slow down you metabolism and wait. Think of it, you can carry at least 1 or 2 months of "fat energy". Why wait for Walton Feed, head down to the Sizzler all you can eat buffet.

-- Bill (bill@microsoft.com), September 23, 1998.

Since I found out I've been looking at that 20 pounds I've gained from kicking the habit in a whole new light. Diet RIP.

"Dear, be a love and put a couple extra cheddar wurst on the barbie while your out there, and in the meantime, I'll grab a lime and crack open a couple of these Coronas."

-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@twiceshy.com), September 23, 1998.

I can see it now...

::::INFORMERCIAL ANNOUNCER::::

THE Y2K DIET PLAN! Yours for $19.99. AND...and if you order NOW, we'll include THE Y2K WORKOUT VIDEO. If you follow our plan, you're body can be "Y2K compliant" within 30 days, or your money back!

Time is limited, so ORDER NOW!

:::CLICK::::

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), September 24, 1998.

Ha, ha, ha. I said it once before, and I will say it again. You increase your odds of coping and surviving what is coming by getting your body ready, so it can withstand both the internal stress as well what may be horrendous physical endurance. Stop smoking, stop overeating, start exercising (see a Dr first etc). Please, take this seriously.

-- Joe (shar@pei.com), September 24, 1998.

by an exercize bicycle and hook it up to a generator

-- sec (ciattis@earthlink.net), September 24, 1998.

Sorry, Joe... Just a little nervous humor on my behalf. I didn't mean to diminish the seriousness of the issue. The mood amongst those in the know seems to be somber these days, and I thought a little brevity might help.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), September 24, 1998.

Tried that in CA: we were a one-car family and so I commuted (10 mile) each way to work for 5 years.

I don't recommend it: the "small" generators on a bicycle light really slow you down, and they still only throw a small beam of light. In a room, you would not be able to read by it, but one person would have to crank continuously while the other "read".

The cranker would rapidly get "cranked up" and stop cranking....

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), September 24, 1998.

Two things I have recently stopped worrying about:

being overweight accumulating too many books that I haven't gotten around to reading

I think Y2K is going to help me with both problems.

-- Teresa Fisher (75247.3512@compuserve.com), September 25, 1998.

Actually, it is pretty easy to connect a small generator to an exercise bicycle and charge a 12 volt car battery from it. Mother Earth News had an article about a fellow who did this, hooked it to a 12 volt TV set, and told his kids to pedal if they wanted to watch. 15 minutes of pedaling ran the TV for about a half hour if I remember rightly. Kids prolly compete in cross country races now. HA HA

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), September 28, 1998.

Many years ago a survivalist guru named Mel Tappan called it something like a "portable modular self contained food reserve." Still applies... .

-- nemo (nemo@deepsix.com), September 29, 1998.