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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >However, if I could access anything - ie, if whatever power crisis that 
> took out my power did not also take out the Internet - then I would 
> ***happily*** pedal to power my Wild Blue dish and my laptop!
> 

You could easily pedal power your laptop and Wild Blue.  Together they 
consume a trifle of electricity.  It's the water heaters, heat pumps, 
electric 
ranges, electric clothes dryers, air conditioners, that use garganuan amount 
of electricity.  Anything that operates off batteries, like the laptop, you 
can generate that easily with solar, wind, mechanical power, and probably 
dewfall.  

But taking Gene's example of the grist mill,  if he hand cranked a 
generator to power his 2hp motor, he'd work at least twice as hard to grind 
the 
grain than grinding it directly with manual power.   I personally don't like 
to 
put motors on things, but that aside, when it comes to direct mechanical 
power or generating eletricity with mechanical power and using that to do the 
original work, the former is a winner every time.

James</HTML>