jacob wrote:It's on my todo-list to DIY some of this stuff.
Me too!
It is really pretty easy to generate enough electricity, through any number of methods, if you only use it for most needful operation which is transmission of information* (inclusive of artificial lighting.) When you consider alternate sources of energy for any end purpose, it is VERY important to also consider density and quality of energy source. So, for instance, it makes no sense to feed the very high quality concentrated kilocalories in a potato to a human being attached to a bicycle in order to power an electric space heater which creates a very low quality dispersed form of energy.
It makes more sense to simply have obese humans spend a few hours a day engaged in manual labor or effort towards growing, gathering, hunting, and transporting their own food. Even whipping your own egg whites for your souffle would be an improvement.
*One of Claude Shannon's frequent laments was that humans would sometimes think he was referring to "information" when he was clearly referring to "transmission of information."