Still cold but no longer frozen, and the Feed

It finally warmed up above freezing while I was out today, but it was still too cold to realistically wander around without gloves on. I did it anyway, but my fingers are killing me. I had to go buy a Powerball ticket and some birthday cards so that Mrs. the Poet can give away our money. Speaking of multi-state lottery things like Powerball the Megamillions jackpot is over a half-billion dollars (that’s billion with a “b”) and the jackpot is just under twice the odds against winning it. Seriously, you have a better chance of getting hit by a meteorite as you get struck by lightning and stung by a swarm of killer bees than you have to win the Megamillions jackpot. That didn’t keep me from buying a ticket, because eventually someone is going to win…

Up first on a slow news day (for people that worry about bicycle wrecks) is a wreck in SLC UT that LEO are still sitting on. Cyclist injured in collision with school bus in Salt Lake City It has been my experience that when a government vehicle like a school bus or police cruiser has a wreck with a cyclist and they don’t immediately blame the cyclist it’s because there is no way to find the cyclist at fault. But knowing that still doesn’t tell me what happened so that I can tell you how to avoid the wreck.

A wreck in the UK turns ugly in the comments section of a cycling web site. Updated: 16-year-old girl killed in Cambridge named as Beth McDermott It was coded phrases that blamed the cyclist for causing the wreck because she wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Infrastructure! news from WI. Traffic citation in death bolsters Wisconsin vulnerable user bill advocates Yep, $1311 for killing a cyclist with a large motor vehicle, and that’s one of the largest fines issued in recent memory. TANJ!

Further fuel for the fire, also from WI. Petersen to serve community service for fatally striking bicyclist Yep, hit 3 cyclists from behind and kill one and you’ll get community service instead of prison and financially crippling fines.

Lifestyle from CA. Sunnyvale: About 200 people attend service for San Jose teen killed while riding bike

And a shrine to a cyclist is desecrated by vandals county government. Ghost bike memorial removed from Sanibel Causeway

And that’s all I got today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Bonus post: Things I learned while making the slipper socks

Ah yes, another learning moment. First thing I learned is it takes a lot of silicone-based adhesive to attach things to open-cell foam rubber. Second thing I learned was that when you stack a bunch of flip flop soles together they squish rather than bend when you walk. Third thing I learned is when thing number 2 happens you need something to hold your foot in the slipper. The fourth thing I learned was that when making slipper socks it’s Not A Good Idea to start with tall socks, ankle or just-over-the-ankle socks are much easier to put on with flip flop soles glued to the bottom, and also much easier to slide over a second pair of socks when it gets cold. Add to that that the shorter socks are cooler in summer and well, it’s just a much better idea to start with ankle socks.

The fifth thing I learned is that flip flop soles make warmer slippers than the soles of the commercially sold slipper socks I got from the VA when my Dad got out of the hospital last year. Those were just thin pieces of rubber with a little tread to them and no insulation or protection from pokey things on the walkway, like acorns or gravel which makes the sixth thing I learned. And I still don’t know why they gave me a pair of slippers when Dad got out of the hospital last spring.

So, second pair I’m making for Mrs. the Poet, from a pair of her ankle socks (that she hates with a passion, I don’t know why) so that when things get chilly around Casa de El Poeta she can throw on another pair of regular socks to keep a little warmer. I think I will get lavender color flip flops to make the soles for hers because she has already said she likes the slippers but hates the neon green soles I have.

Something else I learned while checking to see if I had too much or little lift on the bad leg is that nothing from the waist down is symmetrical on me. My right tibia is about a half an inch shorter than the left one, while the left femur is about an inch shorter than the right one. Seriously, it’s a wonder I can even walk. And I figured out where I lost the length in my left leg after the wreck. The tibia was broken and not set because it didn’t displace during the wreck (or got set during the flipping and flopping) and then was held in place long enough to fuse because all the swelling acted as a splint to keep the ends from wandering away from each other. So before the wreck I was even more catty wampus than I am now, but it balanced out better. It’s no wonder my drill sergeant went bonkers watching me marching in formation. I was going every which way when I walked/marched.

And that’s what I learned from making a pair of slippers. Amazing isn’t it?

PSA, Opus