Having sleeping problems, and the Feed

Last night was terrible. I just could not get the creative part of my mind to SHUT UP. I went to bed shortly after midnight because I was tired having been woken early yesterday morning by some commotion outside my bedroom windows after working late filtering the early feed. And by “early” I mean “dawn streaming in Oh Gawds why am I awake?” early. So here I am lying in my bed and I can’t stop thinking about building things. Just bang, bang, bang one thing after another and where does this go and what will happen if I do this and how about I make one of these and next thing I know the alarm is going off to wake Mrs. the Poet to walk to the bus stop and take the flavor out of the kids’ food at school and I’m still building things in my mind. I did a general layout for 4 cars and 3 bicycles and that is not including the iterations of any of the vehicles. I mean I even did a quick calculation of the weight and watt-hours of the battery pack of the EV (205 pounds with BMS and 2900 w-h with the only quibble was did I remember the cell weight and the BMS weight correctly). I think I finally collapsed mentally sometime between 0630 and 0700 only to be awakened by the phone about 1000. And I can still feel those cars and bikes churning around in the back of my mind. If I had money and a workshop I would be dangerous. Well not dangerous as in possible losses of life and limb (maybe, one of those cars would have been wicked fast) but dangerous as in pushing the boundaries of what can be done with current technology and a little mixing of parts. I mean I have catalogs full of parts for midget racecars, and also EVs and battery stuff and stock car racecars… And if it wasn’t for having this blog as an outlet for my writing I think I would be insane by now.

Up first, cyclists are getting regularly killed down south of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Officials seek help to solve hit-and-run cycling accidents and promote bike safety Most of these wrecks are because Houston has poor to non-existent bicycle infrastructure. Combine that with drivers who have been told for generations that they literally “own the road” and you get the one-in-a-million sociopath who thinks that riding a bicycle in the street should be grounds for summary execution because “you slowed me down!” With transportation costs taking as much as a third of Texan’s budgets and shelter taking half that doesn’t leave much for the things that help keep people sane. It is a problem that I readily admit I have no cure for aside from time to allow people to adapt to the changes from the changed economy.

A MT cyclist is critically injured by a suspected impaired driver. Cyclist injured by SUV; police suspect alcohol Another “It was the car that did it!” headline, with the narrative suggesting the cyclist was hit because the driver failed to obey a traffic control that the cyclist was obeying. Intersection protocols kinda depend on the driver mostly following the rules, and the driver was already ignoring the built infrastructure built to accommodate his vehicle so changing the environment would simply move the wreck a few feet one way or the other. Yep, this is one of those few wrecks that because of driver behavior even getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would not prevent or probably even reduce the injuries all that much. Way to go drunk driver! The only way to prevent this wreck would be an interlock on the ignition that requires a sober driver to start the car.

A cyclist is killed in IL. Cyclist, 59, killed in Bridgeport hit-and-run Not a lot of information from this article, basically only the escape direction of the weapon vehicle. Direction and lane position of the victim are not known at this time. All I can say is infrastructure that was “up to Dutch” more than likely would have prevented this wreck.

Moving to CA, a driver could be getting prison for the road-rage hit and run of an uninvolved cyclist. Driver faces prison for seriously injuring cyclist The cyclist was not even involved in the initial act of road rage and was just riding in the shoulder when the driver made a break for it right through where the cyclist was riding. As I pointed out when the wreck was first reported there ain’t much you can do about people that behave like anal sphincters when there’s no room to get away from them. I hope this particular sphincter gets a nice long rest at the expense of the state of CA. And even with infrastructure “up to Dutch” unless there was no way for the driver to get to the cyclist it wouldn’t help.

Still in CA, closure to a fatal wreck. Pleasanton teen sentenced to prison for cyclist’s death Charges downgraded from murder for going more than twice the posted limit and running off the road to hit a cyclist after losing control. As I posted when this wreck was first reported on there was nothing either of the cyclists could have done to dodge this wreck by a guy going sideways doing 83 in a 40. Infrastructure that segregated the cyclists away from motor vehicle traffic would have prevented the wreck as the weapon vehicle did not get very far from the road when it hit the two cyclists.

A driver involved in a cyclist wreck is identified. In brief: Officer who hit cyclist ID’d If the narrative is accurate then obeying traffic controls is how this wreck could be avoided. And even getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” won’t prevent that 100%, but studies have shown that when infrastructure makes allowances for cyclists cyclist compliance with traffic controls improves substantially. But otherwise this wreck was 99% on the cyclist.

Ted Rogers finds another report on the cyclist who died from a right hook weeks after the wreck. Whittier rider dies of injuries suffered in Downey collision last month Same rider I reported on yesterday, just different links inside his post.

Moving to the Great White North, a killer driver is found guilty. Driver found guilty in crash that killed elderly cyclist The cyclist in this wreck had no place to go to escape the deadly driver, the only way to prevent a similar wreck would be getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch”. And putting killer drivers in prison with no hope of getting their cars or driver’s license back in this lifetime. And if there was a way to punish killer drivers when they come back for the next go-round… would it be ethical to do so? Hmm, something else to write about.

A Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot moment in Jolly Olde. Preston cyclist deliberately knocked off bike and robbed – another nearby suffers a broken collar bone in a hit and run Yes someone used their motor vehicle as a weapon to allow them to rob a cyclist. And a few streets over someone else used their motor vehicle to injure a cyclist becauuuse? No word on if the two wrecks are related other than proximity.

Closure on a wreck in Jolly Olde caused by a driver who should have been taken from the roads long before she finally was. New inquiry into death of cyclist The driver had a medical condition that should have taken her off the roads but because nobody knew she had it she continued to drive.

Two links to a door prize in London. Cyclist knocked off bike by open lorry door near Twickenham Green and Cyclist knocked off bike by open lorry door near Twickenham Green The cyclist was hit in the head when the door opened, ouch!

A UK cyclist is hit head-on “on the Continent”. British father-of-three knocked down and killed by hit-and-run driver while cycling near holiday home in France OK zero chance for the cyclist to avoid that one, and from the description the area was shared space and the driver should have been driving much slower. So basically that puts this one entirely on the driver of the weapon vehicle, which I guess is a big reason why he didn’t stick around.

In Oz they complain because not all the cyclists and jaywalkers were arrested during a crackdown. Cyclist, jaywalker crackdown Operation Pedro was hit and miss as police fail to fine all transgressors And I’m sure they’ll complain equally when a crackdown on speeding and failing to yield in the CBD fails to catch all the speeders and people who drive through crowded crosswalks.

Major victim blaming in Enn Zed. Cyclist death prompts high-vis warning Hasn’t his particular idiot blamed cyclists for not being visible enough before? Nope, this is a different idiot from the same school apparently, because the other idiot was also named in the article.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: A slightly less sucky Westside intersection, victory for cyclists on PCH, and spreading ciclovias

And more Lifestyle from the eastern part of the Great White North. Hundreds ride at memorial for Dartmouth cyclist killed in crash

And sorry it’s late but I wanted to wait until the afternoon reports came in so Monday would be a little lighter, a little more work now saves more later.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Grocery Day is delayed a day, and the Feed

Even though we have Francis/es to haul groceries from the store, bought specifically for that purpose, Mrs. the Poet insists on waiting until our son can get off work to haul the groceries home from the store before she agrees to go shopping. I think what it really is is that Mrs. the Poet wants our son to haul her home from the store because she’s tired of walking (and she won’t ride any of the bikes I have built for her over the years). So tonight’s dinner is “Pantry Surprise”, or whatever edible we can cobble up that resembles dinner. I know there is at least one can of Spam left in there…

The Feed today so far has lots of links to cyclists who were collateral damage to terrorist attacks on other groups or on buildings near roads. Since avoiding those is mainly a matter of chance (not being next to the building when the bomb goes off) I don’t have many links to actual things that are traffic problems that involve cyclists and that changing behavior or the physical and legal infrastructure can prevent.

First link is another dead cyclist from Ted Rogers. 54-year old bike rider killed in Ramona collision and another link Ramona crash leaves bicyclist dead I think it’s appropriate to say here that Mr. Rogers is not happy, and neither am I. I don’t know exactly what happened but the cyclist was coming out of a driveway and got smacked big time by the minivan. I’m not getting any luck pulling up a Street View of the area so I can’t say if there was anything obstructing the cyclist’s view of the road or why he went directly in front of a moving vehicle like that. Anyway, intersection protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and I’m not sure if changing the infrastructure would help as I don’t know what kind of area this was, commercial or residential or something else completely.

A MN cyclist was hit “crossing” a road. Bicyclist struck by car south of Winona Cyclist removed from scene by ambulance, leaving the driver to explain things to the police. And trying to find the intersection on Google Maps was futile as Gilmore Valley Road changes name miles before the intersection with MN 43, but assuming the intersection of Gilmore Ridge and MN 43 was the site of the wreck I saw clear visibility (unless there was a stand of Johnson Grass that was not in the Street View). The road the cyclist must have been on if I found the right intersection ends at MN 43 and another, unpaved road continues on the other side of the intersection. Given the high speed limit on MN 43 and the nature of the cyclist’s injuries the weapon vehicle must have either been preparing to make a turn, or just brushed the cyclist. Anyway, intersection wreck, protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Update to a MI wreck. Bicycle rider dies from injuries suffered two weeks ago As one person pointed out in the comments to this article, had the cyclist been in the lane instead of the sidewalk this may have been a different wreck with less fatal outcomes.

Infrastructure! news from NYC. NYPD: 1,141 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 11 Killed in Traffic in March The Good News for this blog is that no cyclists were killed in NYC that month, bad news is that 11 pedestrians were killed and a total of 1141 cyclists and pedestrians were injured enough to require transport by ambulance.

Infrastructure news from Chuck SC. Update: 10 tickets written for distracted driving Not very encouraging words to those of us on the roads without thousands of pounds of armor around us…

Lifestyle from the eastern part of the Great White North. Cyclists ride for Johanna Dean, who was killed on bike

Still hoping for more links to come in later and afraid they will.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

A quiet day so far, and the Feed

Now that the primary runoff elections are over it’s almost like we don’t have a land line any more. I think the phone rang once all morning, from someone asking for a clothing donation. I just hope someone managed to get a recording of all the ads about the Lt. Governor candidate run by the guy that lost, because I’m pretty sure those will work better with the electorate at large than they did with the whack-a-doodles from the Tea Party. I seriously wonder about the rest of the state’s voters, the guy that won the primary for Governor brings an admitted pedophile to endorse him at rallies and calls his opponent “Abortion Barbie” and pays for very offensive posters to be placed, and one candidate says Obama thinks he’s Gawd. I mean the Democrats aren’t doing all that great either aside from the two women running at the top of the ticket, but compared to the GOTP ticket it looks like a Mensa convention. I’m embarrassed for my state.

Speaking of being embarrassed for my state, about a half day ride to the west road conditions and a hit-and-run driver take out two participants in a charity ride. Injured cyclists will make full recoveries One injured when he slid in oil (?!) and the other hit-and-run assault with a pickup truck that hit him from behind. Protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. Education as well as physical infrastructure needs drastic updating.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bicycle, update on another fatality. 82-year-old cyclist struck, killed Now that I can see better where the wreck happened and more importantly see the weapon vehicle and bicycle damages, the cyclist almost made it across the street when he was hit from the side at a speed that looks to be close to the posted speed limit. I still say that poor infrastructure is a major cause for this wreck but intersection protocols until they get the infrastructure fixed.

More on the gigantic F.U. from NY state to cyclists (and pretty much everybody else). Unlicensed Driver Faces Wrist Slap After Killing Queens Cyclist William Faison Yep, killing a cyclist while driving unlicensed is just “collateral damages” from an automobile-centric transportation policy.

Moving west to CA we get a cyclist hit from behind by a blind driver. Visalia bicyclist dies after collision with car and Visalia bicyclist fatally struck by car near Ivanhoe Seriously this guy needs to permanently lose his license if he’s that blind that he can’t see an adult human being directly in front of his vehicle. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate the damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Still in CA we get another hit-from-behind wreck with a survivor this time. Jail worker injured in Saugus bike-car collision The good thing about the article is that all the comments blamed either the driver or the infrastructure as the cause of the wreck. Nobody blamed the cyclist for getting hit from behind. Once again I’m gonna say protocols to deal with the built environment until they get that infrastructure “up to Dutch”.

Still in CA Ted Rogers reports on another elderly cyclist killed apparently by bad infrastructure. 80-year old Long Beach bike rider killed in collision with medical van and Bicyclist killed in Long Beach collision There are two theories on this one that I will present without comment. The one proffered by LEO is that an 80 YO cyclist riding on the sidewalk just “didn’t stop” at the intersection and went blindly into traffic without checking the traffic signal, the one offered by cyclists that use that intersection is that the light phases for the cross street did not allow enough time for the cyclist to clear the intersection before it changed to green for the weapon vehicle, and the operator failed to see the cyclist legally completing the crossing until too late to avoid impact. I’m going to say intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

On the other side of the country again as we nearly lose another one to a hit-from-behind hit-and-run. Cyclist injured in hit-and-run crash in Rehoboth Driver drifts to the shoulder and hits the cyclist from behind, it looks like the cyclist will survive. Infrastructure to the Dutch CROW standard is the only thing that can prevent a wreck like this.

Hit and run in the Great White North. Cyclist injured in North York hit-and-run The wreck looks to be another hit-from-behind wreck on a street with little access for bicycles. Protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Infrastructure! news from Jolly Olde as the number one factor in bicycle fatalities is confronted in the city of London. As Operation Safeway Bites Road Haulage and Freight Groups Should Welcome Cyclist Safety Campaigns and Boris announces indefinite Police road-side operations in bid to cut bike deaths Two thirds of fatal bike wrecks in London involve an HGV or LGV, mostly in left turns across the blind side of the vehicle (the driver sits to the right in the UK making the left side the blind side). The two classes of trucks combine for about 12% of the traffic in the city, making them far over-represented in fatal bicycle wrecks.

Legal and moral infrastructure from the Great White North. Opinion: We are all part of the traffic mix (II) The bit about the driver berating the cyclist for riding in the bike lane after he had just presented the injured cyclist with the door prize? Yeah, me too.

Our daily Ted, part 2. Morning Links: A massive list of post-holiday bike news; San Marion dreads outsiders on bikes

E-assist via DIY. Want an e-bike? Build your own! I’m a big fan of DIY, in fact all of my e-assist bikes have been beyond simple DIY projects, they were closer to research programs than DIY stuff.

Another take on that Bike League report. Here’s how and where you’re most likely to die on a bike

And those are all the links that gave me fits or giggles today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Things were quiet over the weekend, too quiet, and the Feed

Looking back at past Memorial Day Weekends I noticed a slight spike in bike v car wrecks historically, but when I opened the Feed folder today it was relatively empty. There were very few wrecks over the weekend and most of the reports were from Sunday. I hope that means we had a low body count this weekend, and not that bike v car wrecks are not getting reported in the media like they used to…

Up first people can’t decide if the cyclist was hit crossing the road or riding on it a few miles from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run on Scyene Road in Dallas OK now they have dropped the crossing the road story and acknowledged the cyclist was legally taking the lane in this very bicycle-unfriendly area of Dallas. The video showed an area that mooted the hit-from-behind protocols, so because of a lack of alternative routes the cyclist was pretty much forced to take this stroad with the high speed limit and no escape route. Getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have prevented the wreck.

The most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike has killed another cyclist. Cyclist Killed in Collision with Car At this point all I know about the wreck was the cyclist was riding in an intersection. Since every driveway is an intersection and the street in question is riddled with driveways, that’s a lot of intersections that the cyclist could have been crossing from in this mixed commercial and residential area. Intersection protocols on high alert to avoid or mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent the wreck entirely.

Subterfuge in CA? Weekend Links: Is the LA County Sheriff’s Department trying to hide the results of the Milt Olin investigation? Why go to so much trouble to bury the story if there is nothing to hide? And why did a routine traffic investigation take so long to complete…

Another wreck in SF has a stop sign running cyclist getting hit by a car pulling into a garage from the street. Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot, Interrogative! S.F. cyclist hurt in crash after reportedly running stop sign Yep, apparently running the stop sign had something to do with the cyclist getting hit by the Supersized Unnecessary Vehicle entering a garage. I can’t decide if this is just a case of trolling by the SFPD or the media outlet or what…

Another link to the salmon cyclist killed in SC. Cyclist hit, killed on Folly Road Same advice as the other times I linked to this wreck, don’t ride salmon and hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: A local bike shop worker moves up, a cycling triple crown, and a bad break for Phinney

A little Infrastructure! news from NYC. Cops Crack Down On UWS Cyclists Another cyclist ticket blitz to “be fair” after ticketing drivers for speeding, not yielding to pedestrians, and double parking. All but one of those kills cyclists and pedestrians, the last one kills cyclists, and cyclists kill? Nobody since 2009.

A little infrastructure from the next town over from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Bike Parking Workshop – WE NEED YOUR INPUT One thing I would like to interject, I have two bikes that are close to 8 feet in length, clearance to park without obstructing other people’s access would be lovely.

Last link is to an article on using an e-assist bike as a car replacement. EXCHANGE: Electric bikes alternative to gas The Federal standard of 20 MPH is still faster than most commutes, and most people have commutes that are well within the one-way range of an e-assist bike and have a place to recharge at work (sometimes for free with the approval of the employer). And even for those who can’t charge at work, a majority are still inside the round-trip capacity of their e-assist bikes.

And those are all the links that gave me fits or giggles today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Remembering our fallen military on Memorial Day, and the Feed

Today is the day we remember our fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have fought that we could be free, not a corporate-controlled oligarchy. Honor their sacrifices by voting against the corporate candidates in every election you are allowed to vote in.

On those lines, here is a way to support those whose sacrifices do not extend to the ultimate, yet. Injured Veterans to Bicycle 350 Miles from Arlington to Virginia Beach, Va., for the 2014 UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery Memorial Challenge If you are close enough to the route to see or ride along for a bit, this is a WoaB endorsed event.

The Big Story is the cyclist right-hooked in AR last week. Bike rider critically injured and Authorities release name of man killed when bicycle collides with semi in Russellville also Russellville cyclist killed in accident with semi-truck Whoops! That first link was to a different wreck a few miles away in a different town to a guy of the same age as the victim of the wreck last week. There isn’t enough information from the first link to say what to do to avoid it, the other links the rider was riding slowly on the sidewalk and likely was getting passed by the truck when he entered the crosswalk so he had no chance of seeing any signals the truck drover may or may not have been using and because the truck did not have guards keeping the cyclist out of the wheels (and none of the articles have definitively said if the cyclist went into the tractor or trailer wheels, just “rear” wheels). So this probably was not a wreck that a cyclist of this fitness and experience could have avoided or done anything to reduce the damages, and only segregated infrastructure that keeps cyclists away from semi truck/trailer combinations would have prevented it.

A salmon cyclist is killed in SC. Charleston County coroner identifies bicyclist killed in Folly Road wreck early Sunday morning OK don’t ride salmon because then you get blamed for what would have been a hit-from-behind wreck. And I’m pretty sure that’s what happened here. Middle of the block wreck, and I’m pretty sure the driver “didn’t see” the cyclist until impact. Or the cyclist may have been riding with traffic and the bike was so badly destroyed in the impact that LEO were not sure which way he was going when he was hit and just made up stuff to blame the cyclist. Anyway don’t ride salmon and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

The driver that killed a cyclist in N’awlins is getting treated as he deserved. Man indicted in death of cyclist in N.O. East This was the driver that ran 2 cyclists over on a 4 lane road with a clear lane to the left and no oncoming traffic except another cyclist in the outside lane on the other side of the road, IOW the driver had 3 lanes to choose from of which only the one he was in had any cyclists. Now he’s going to go to prison…

Updates on the cyclist killed last week in the Great White North. Cyclist killed in Dartmouth was vibrant and funny, says twin sister and Cyclist killed in Edmonton was caring mom, family says We have already covered the wreck, now let’s remember the victim…

Our daily Ted… Morning Links: Remember what Memorial Day is all about, Calendar update, and 2 new National Champs

Pictures. Look! Save A Life / Arizona

And a fitting picture to share on this Memorial Day. Photos from Leslie Connally’s post in DFW Cargo Bike Community

Now go have a hot dog or hamburger and remember those who have given their lives to protect your freedoms, and do what you can to protect those freedoms at home.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

In the middle of a motor-racing marathon on a Wreck-Free Sunday

I’m posting this at the end of the Indy 500 race as there is a substantial gap between the 500 in Indianapolis and the World 600 (excuse me the Coca-Cola World 600) in Charlotte. Ryan Hunter-Reay won, Marco Andretti was 3rd and Kurt Busch finished I think 6th to match his boss’ best finish trying for the Double of the Indy 500 and World 600. There was a big wreck 10 laps before the finish that put a lot of debris on the track, so to get the mess cleared up they threw the red to give them all the time they needed to clear away the mess. Then they had a total of 6 green flag laps to the finish, which was edge-of-your-seat exciting. Three passes for the lead in 6 laps! Wow!

The first race of the day was the Grand Prix of Monaco, which became exciting when something got in Lewis Hamilton’s eye in the closing laps and he had to drop off his race pace to a slightly slower speed that he could still see to drive safely, which allowed the 3rd place car to close up on him. While this was going on Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate was running away in first place, leaving Nico Rosberg the winner for the second year in a row. The actual racing consisted mostly of nose to tail pressure rather than side by side racing because of the nature of the Monaco street circuit making passing virtually impossible unless you can force the guy in front to make a mistake, which is something drivers at this level just do not do very often if at all…

Last night was RPG night and we decided to run the game that I play with the older version of Sparrow. Because of the nature of the setting Sparrow does not get the chance to engage the enemy very often, as the engagement distances are beyond the range of all his invocations and spell-like abilities, but this time we ended up in a ship to ship battle at close range as our flying squid engaged an undead white whale piloted by a litch (undead necromancer), getting me within fighting range and able to get a crippling blow against the litch, which distracted him long enough for another player to get a kill shot lined up from another ship in our fleet against the whale. Unfortunately this resulted in losing 4 characters because the kill shot was a suicide attack from the ship that killed the whale and the litch. We also captured the litch’s phylactery which meant he could not resurrect himself, the whale, and the undead crew on the whale. We lost 2 of our living ships, the shark interceptor and the squid salvage ship, but we had made enough money from our previous trading runs that we could replace both even inside the war zone we had stumbled upon. Oh yeah I almost forgot that we stumbled into a battle between our trade allies and another group and we intervened on behalf of the trade allies to route a physically and numerically superior force right before the whale showed up to drastically change everything. Also in destroying the whale we also ended up destroying all the salvage we intended to recover following the battle which made this a losing battle in terms of money. We won, but we lost money, which made it a shallow victory. Also we lost one character permanently as she was outside the secondary shield when the whale was destroyed and there was not enough of her left for our Spear of Righteousness to resurrect.

One thing that I have been able to do in the RP side of the game since my character lacks abilities or feats for ship to ship combat is I have taken over running the town brothel from the NPC proprietor. The previous proprietor had been cheating the girls, customers, and us by over charging and skimming the profits without paying the operating tax. I hired a house mage to ensure the girls were not under compulsions or otherwise forced into working the brothel (which caused us to lose about half of our employees) and a house cleric to keep any diseases from getting a toehold in the establishment. I have been staying true to my alignment by keeping everything in balance rather than strictly adhering to the laws, but because my character had a large say in the laws for our operation concerning brothels the laws mostly adhere to my dictates. The girls are happy, healthy, and making money, the house is showing a healthy profit, and the company is getting their tax on the operation so we can keep the lights on and the plumbing working. The brothel was the only profitable side of the company after the battle because we had the only functional house in the sector after the massive battle. Oh and the NPC that was running the house before I took over? He was given a lifeboat with a ring of sustenance and a year of life support and cast adrift… I don’t take kindly to people who abuse their power under me.

One other thing is we are spending months in travel time between encounters so that my character is now almost 30 YO or about 7 years older than when I started playing this character 4 years ago. We had been running pretty close to “real-time” between character aging and what was happening to the players, but this world has lengthy amounts of time pass between RP and combat encounters. So, Sparrow is aging rapidly compared to his player (me).

And now the World 600 is getting ready to start so to allow me to pay attention to the race and not get the post garbled I’m going to end the post now…

PSA, Opus

I have a backlog of links to filter, and the rest of the Feed

Yesterday’s busy day has left me with a massive backlog of links to filter before I can even begin to start writing the rest of the blog post, but I did find some interesting stuff from things I was sent in my regular e-mail. I think I have just about recovered from Wednesday and yesterday. And I’m watching the repeat of the qualifying from Charlotte for the World 600 Sprint Cup race on Sunday, with Jimmy Johnson getting the pole.

I’m going to start with Ride of Silence links for two reasons: I have a bunch of those links with tons of flash advertising in the pages I’m linking to that is really clogging my computer to the point that I can get most of a line typed out before it shows up on my screen, and this is the international Big Story. Cyclists remember others who have died on the road and ‘Ride of Silence’ to honor cyclists killed on SF streets and this SF BIKE COMMUNITY TO HONOR CYCLIST FATALITIES more Share the road: Cyclists hope silent ride raises awareness still more Annual bike ride honours injured, killed cyclists not done yet Cyclists honor victims killed on SC roads more links
‘Ride of Silence’ promotes awareness of safety for cyclists another one Fort Myers Ride of Silence draws nearly 200 cyclists and they just go one and on Riding and remembering another one CYCLIST TRIBUTE: Ride Of Silence Held

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Coddling drunk drivers, analysis of the new Bike League study and a moving new hit-and-run video

This was just too easy as a driver videos himself assaulting cyclists and posted the video online. Piedmont man charged after viral video threatening cyclists The comments made in the video after one of the “punishment passes” about he should have run the cyclist into the ditch, combined with all the other ranting and raving he recorded, and thought would be acceptable to post to Facebook… More Truck-driving Alabama man arrested after videos of him threatening bicyclists goes viral

A cyclist is killed by a semi truck while riding on a shared lane. Cyclist killed in crash Notice the picture where they extracted the cyclist’s body from the wreck beside a “Share the Road” sign. The mode of wreck was a right hook and can be expected when the infrastructure is as demi-buttocked as it usually is in AR. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A “possible” hit and run in IL. Bike Rider Killed In Possible Hit-Run Accident In Mundeleinz Dead rider, smashed bicycle located well off the road, and they think “possible” hit-and-run? I wouldn’t drop it lower than “probable” unless there was a UFO sighting in the area about the time he failed to show after the ride… Since they couldn’t determine direction of travel prior to the wreck or much of anything else I can’t advise on dealing with the built infrastructure or if altering the built infrastructure would prevent the wreck, aside from barrier protected segregated infrastructure. If the cars can’t get to you whatever they do on the roads becomes moot.

And a fatal wreck is quickly approaching closure in VA. Motorist pleads guilty to DUI, killing cyclist in Roanoke Now we just have to wait until August to find out she will get probation for a few years at most…

Someone in illegal possession of a deadly weapon gets a ticket for killing a cyclist in NYC. NYPD says cyclist killed by unlicensed driver The driver got a ticket for driving without a license, but nothing for killing the cyclist…

A VT cyclist gets hit by a car running a traffic control while the cyclist was crossing the road. Van collides with cyclist OK you have a crossing signal flashing at you and there are 2 other vehicles stopped waiting, so naturally you just barge right on through… And the idiot admits to seeing the cyclist before hitting him. Nothing a cyclist could have done to prevent the wreck and as the driver was ignoring traffic controls only grade separated infrastructure would have prevented this wreck.

A MI cyclist is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Bicycle rider struck and killed on Gratiot in New Haven The biggest thing I took away from this article was that the driver was found hiding under a blanket after literally running away from the wreck on foot.

A wreck in WA leaves a cyclist clinging to life in hospital. Bicyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run collision Because of the nature of the hit-and-run all they know is the likely direction of travel for the cyclist. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A CA cyclist gets clobbered with bad infrastructure. Downey cyclist hit by vehicle trying to enter 105 Freeway I had to read deep into the article to be sure the cyclist was not trying to enter the freeway, and I’m still only about 90% convinced this was the case. Low angle intersection but I’m still confused as to where the cyclist was in relation to the motor vehicle. I can’t get any mapping programs to open up because of all the open tabs I still have up. This could have been a typical right hook only worse because the turn was taken at a higher than normal speed. Intersection wreck but protocols would require time for reaction that doesn’t look like the cyclist would have had, so mooted, but getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have the cyclist on a parallel route with better access to local businesses and housing and prevented this wreck.

I don’t know why I let this anger me any more, I know cyclists are considered second class citizens by the courts. Powers sentenced for drunk driving crash that killed Helena cyclist The driver will be out of prison in a little over a year… for killing a human being while driving with a 0.25 BAC%. I have long known that MT treats drunk drivers with great deference but this is fracking ridiculous. There is no wiggle room on this one, the cyclist was wearing a helmet and the bike was lighted like a Christmas tree and had reflectors, and the driver never braked nor swerved to miss him.

More on a cyclist killed in the Great White North. Cyclist dies after collision with pickup truck, driver treated for shock Since the article is mostly behind a paywall and I have exceeded my allotment of free pages I can’t say for sure there is no new material in this link… But as I wrote earlier because of the lack of witnesses at the scene (cyclist dead and driver in shock) there hasn’t been much forthcoming on this one.

Intersection wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist in hospital after collision in Burlington Nothing on the mode of the wreck, just the location at the exit of a high-speed freeway so intersection protocols might help avoid or mitigate the damages in the wreck, but getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” so that cyclists are not crossing freeway exits at grade level would prevent it.

A right hook wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist killed after being hit by vehicle in Dartmouth The initial narrative is for a typical right hook, so intersection protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent the wreck. The thing that gets me the worst about this wreck is the cyclist is dead, but you could straighten out the saddle and ride away on the bike she was riding…

Lots of bike wrecks in a single link from the GWN. Five local cyclists hurt in two days after collisions with vehicles

A right hook wreck in Canuckistan has two links. Cyclist killed after downtown collision with garbage truck and Edmonton cyclist killed after being hit by a garbage truck typical right hook but the results were very similar to the wreck in the preceding paragraph half a continent away, the bike looks like it could be adjusted and ridden away from the wreck. Same advice as the previous wreck, intersection protocols and infrastructure.

Completely unsurprising news from Jolly Olde. Lorry driver will not face prosecution over death of cyclist in Dulwich TANJ!

Somewhat surprising news from Oz. Drink-driver jailed over Qld cyclist death The driver must have been completely plastered the night before because more than 5 hours after the party he was still at 0.076 BAC% when he hit the cyclist.

Infrastructure! news from the United States. Report: 88% Of Drivers Who Kill Cyclists Walk Free The headline does not surprise me, but the tidbit from later in the article that 40% of fatal wrecks are hit-from-behind in spite of those wrecks being a very small percentage of all bicycle v motor vehicle wrecks. The fact that Floriduh kills a very high percentage of its population on bikes is completely unsurprising. More 8 takeaways from the Bike League’s study of cyclist fatalities and How to get killed on a bike: Your chances are best on an urban arterial road, getting hit from behind.

Infrastructure from the Great White North. Letter: Cyclists should assert their power (respectfully)

Infrastructure news from Oz as cyclists protest their draconian helmet laws. SA cyclists and police face head-on clash over helmet law If bike helmets actually did something useful I could see the laws, but every study not carried out by the helmet industry has failed to find a distinct benefit from helmet laws. Unless you count cyclist suppression as a “benefit”.

And I think I have enough for today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I got dropped ot the Ride of Silence, and no Feed

I have been all over the eastern end of the Metromess today, with multiple trips to court and a trip to the northern parts of Richardson so Mrs. the Poet and I could attend her 25 work anniversary award dinner. The dinner was lovely with a hearty salad and rolls to start out, and some kind of chicken in a cream sauce and capers over linguine with yellow squash and zucchini on the side, with a choice of chocolate cake or raspberry cheesecake for dessert with water and unsweetened ice tea as beverages. As a person that experiments with breads from time to time I strongly approve of the rolls, they were superb. The squashes were a little bland, I think because they were pan-fried without breading, or quite enough salt. It’s possible that I needed more salt because of all the walking I did in the heat of the day.

Getting to the walking in the heat of the day I had to go to court this morning, then back to court this afternoon. I went to court this morning because the codes guy never actually told us what was the problem with the “fix-it” warnings for branches, landscaping, and trash until he wrote the ticket for the broken branch and sent a picture of the branch that we could not see from inside the property. There was a broken branch in the ash tree that could only be seen if you stood on the sidewalk across the street (or in the street close to the curb). Even the prosecutor thought we had trash in the yard from looking at the ticket until I showed the pictures that were sent to the house with the ticket. We spent months chasing trash off the fence line only to get a ticket for a broken branch we could not see from the property. Getting that taken care of was why I went to court in the morning. The reason I went again in the afternoon was Mrs. the Poet signed a check for me to fill out for whatever fines or costs we had to pay, and the clerk would not take the check because I was not the person that signed it, because even though the ticket was dismissed we still had to pay court costs (even if you win you lose). So I had to go back with Mrs. the Poet to show her ID and get everything paid for.

Now we get back to the headline of the day, I got dropped from the Mother Ride of the Ride of Silence. Francis/es it has already been established is somewhat less aerodynamic than a brick with its largest side facing the wind. I mean seriously it’s a truck, it’s not a racer. Combine that with strong headwinds for the backside of the loop around White Rock Lake and a balky IGH that did not want to stay in gear and not hydrating before the ride and having to wear a helmet I could not raise my head enough to see around and I was cosplaying Powdered Toast Man by the time we went past the Stone Tables area. Shortly before I got to the bridge before Garland Road the cramps set in but by that time even the cops doing sweep had dropped me. I walked a bit and rode a bit and walked a bit more then finally rode into the finish at least 15 minutes after the ride was over and everybody was socializing. I managed to get some water and started to feel more like a higher life form, but not quite human yet. I managed to get home about 2230 after leaving before 1800, and grabbed my dinner from the microwave, then checked to see what the 2000th post had done for clicks, and fell into bed exhausted with a throbbing neck. Now it’s over 24 hours later and my neck is still going between throbbing and twingeing a bit, so I think this is a good time to call it quits and end this post.

PSA, Opus

How the Ride of Silence and this blog are part and parcel today on my 2000th blog post

Yeah, I know. Wow! I have as of this date sat down and sorta collected my thoughts mostly at this desk (there were some posts made from exotic locations like bus stations and small town libraries after I got the laptop with wi-fi capability) two thousand times. Actually a few more than that as there were some posts that never actually made it to the front page, and the separate pages (Gay Marriage, Gigi’s Story, etc.) don’t count towards the post count and some of them have been updated several times. So I posted a bit more than the official count, not that it really matters. Today is the 2000^th “official” blog post since 11/23/2008, the date I started posting from this service provider. Prior to that I was posting from MySpace, but had to move because all the external links caused them to think I was a phishing site (and shortly after they shut down my blog MySpace quietly imploded, imagine that). I worked for Examiner.com for a while (and they still consider me an employee, they sent me a nice e-badge that would show on any articles I would write stating that I was a 5-year employee) based on the contents of this blog, but since I was more national and they wanted hyper local we drifted apart.

In the meantime I have been consulted by several lawyers concerning bicycle wrecks since I have been exposed to more wreck reports than just about any person on the planet. I’m still trying to decide if that part is a Good Thing or a Bad Thing. I know that combined with the brain damage it does not help me maintain my grasp of sanity, but I have learned a lot from reading those thousands of reports on what happened to people. I have developed an instinctual feel for approximate speed and direction of impact on a bike from looking at the end results since mostly the bike gets hit once and then bounces away from the wreck, and my bullshit detector gets a frequent workout when physical impossibilities are entered as fact. And there is the vanishingly rare case where the perp driver of the weapon vehicle is going so fast that the corpse of his (invariably the driver in these cases is male) victim comes through the windshield and kills or seriously injures the driver. I can recall about 3 of those world-wide since I started this blog on MySpace…

But getting back to the headline, how does this blog connect to the Ride of Silence? Well every year they remember those killed or injured while riding their bikes, and every day I remember those killed or injured while riding their bikes. Every year they say they hope this will be the last time they need to do the Ride, and every day I hope that this will be the last time I need to post about wrecks and bad infrastructure and I can just start posting cat videos, or links to bands I like, or pictures of the bikes I could build if I had the time and the money to buy materials. I mean seriously, I have been redesigning the same three bikes since 2010 for building into “show” bikes. But the RoS, and I are both devoted to the ideal of a world where regardless of your mode of transportation, you can get from A to B safely and calmly, with your life and all your limbs intact and attached. Until that day my work is unfinished and I fear I will go to my grave with work yet to do.

Up first today in this truncated list (I waited as late as I could yesterday so that I wouldn’t have many links today) is this from KY. Bicyclist Injured When Hit By Vehicle Weapon vehicle went off the road, left unstated was where the cyclist was riding. Hit-from-behind wreck but the weapon vehicle going off the road moots almost all of the protocols for avoiding or reducing damages. Unravelled routing or barrier protection would be the only way that infrastructure could prevent a similar wreck.

A low-information report from the Great White North. Cyclist dies after collision with pickup truck in Mirabel One witness dead and the only other witness is too traumatized to talk to LEO, I guess they’ll have to examine the evidence to determine what happened. Or they could just ignore it…

Moving halfway around the world to Enn Zed we get another seriously injured cyclist unable to talk to LEO. Cyclist injured at intersection Other than it was an intersection wreck LEO have not released any information about the mode of the wreck. Thus I have no information about avoiding the wreck or if changing the infrastructure could have prevented the wreck.

Our Daily Ted is pretty good today. Morning Links: New Santa Clarita bike safety campaign; Beverly Hills official calls you an organ donor wannabe Ted, if you live long enough you will have any number of conditions that merit their own bike ride, just be glad you have that kind of support.

This video from DC shows a driver trying to intimidate a cyclist on a marked bike route. TRIGGER WARNING! Motorist Road Rage on DC Bicycle Route

This is so rare that I thought it deserved setting it apart from the “normal” links we get from FL. Bicycle Safety: Care For Cyclists Egads, someone in the media in FL that actually cares if cyclists live or die and prefers we live! Be still my beating heart…

And at least one country is so serious about what cycling can do in a positive way for their country, they are willing to handhold new cyclists until they are confident in their journeys. Sweden Is So Serious About Reducing Pollution, It’s Giving People Bike Coaches

Standard smart e-bike not distinctive enough for you? Try one of these. SMART EBIKE – ORANGE EDITION, COMFORT EDITION AND BLACK EDITION

And a little Krautrock to lighten your day. Kraftwerk Autobahn full I use the term “little” ironically in this link, this is the full 22 minute version of the piece. Get comfy first because this is a trip of a piece of music.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Grabbing as many links as I can today because tomorrow is a Really Big Day, and the Feed

Tomorrow is the date for Ride of Silence and I will be making the longest ride I have ever made on Francis/es, almost 20 miles round trip, so that I can participate. But that is not why this will be a Really Big Day. This post marks the 1999^th time I have sat down at a computer, this makes the 4th computer since I have started this blog, to create a post for publication. I’m sure you are capable of basic math to know what comes next. Although this blog exists mostly to count and remember those killed and injured while riding a bicycle, tomorrow’s post will not have links to people who died riding, the fact that they were killed riding a bike is not the important thing, the important thing is that they were alive riding their bikes. I will have more to say on the subject tomorrow.

Up first is an update on the attempted mass murder during the SXSW conference/festival in Austin that resulted in the deaths of a cyclist and 4 other people. Suspect in South By Southwest crash indicted One count of capital murder (Murder 1 in most other places) and 4 counts of simple murder (murder 2 or 3 elsewhere). When they execute him do so by making him ride a bike on a closed road full of idiots in light armored vehicles. Let them drive around with the vehicle damage for a month so all their neighbors will know they “only” killed a cyclist…

Also from Austin, another update on a different wreck. Bike group identifies cyclist killed over weekend Nothing new on the wreck, but a lot more information about the victim.

A particularly brutal wreck in OR. Bend driver arrested in DUII SUV-bicycle crash mode not given but it was an intersection wreck and they already stated the weapon vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed, with injuries that go with a collision at a high rate of speed. And the driver got out of jail before the cyclist got out of ICU.

Just down the coast from the OR wreck closure is in sight for a CA wreck. Ex-Con Pleads Guilty to Drunken Driving Crash that Killed Bicyclist The driver was drunk, driving a stolen car, and in possession of methamphetamine, after being convicted for all of these offenses previously, and then he tops it off by killing another human being, and still may only get 14 years? Tell me it ain’t so!

Moving around the globe to Enn Zed, a driver that fatally sideswiped a cyclist gets a trial. Truck driver, 75, charged over cyclist’s death Give him a fair trial and a decent hangin’. With a bicycle chain…

Ted does not appear to be any more happy than I am this morning. Morning Links: A nearly forgotten Ride of Silence, and a deadly OC intersection nearly claims another victim

Infrastructure! news from back in Austin. Cyclist safety a concern after latest death I’m with the comment that cyclist safety is always a concern, just at heightened intensity after a fatal or near-fatal wreck.

Infrastructure news from SC. Photographic evidence: People use bike corrals replacing one car space with 8 bike racks increases the number of customers that can use that space by 15. Savvy business owners can really get behind that math, especially if they have a business that does not require moving large bulky items after the sale, like a restaurant or coffee shop or even a bookstore. I can’t tell you how many trips to the book store I have made by bike, but I can tell you there would have been more if better bike parking was provided.

Infrastructure news of the legal kind from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike again. Exclusive: Widow Makes Big Changes In Tallahassee After Husband’s Death Finally hit-and-run will be treated as seriously as DUI with the exact same penalties if you stay or if you run, and bonuses if you injure or kill someone.

E-bikes as a solution to poor infrastructure in China. E-bikes: a solution to pollution, or just a public safety hazard? The problem is not e-bikes in and of themselves, it is a combination of too many cars and e-bikes that are essentially unregulated. The too many cars thing is starting to straighten itself out as there just isn’t enough room for any more cars in China (witness the weeks-long 60+ mile in duration traffic jams they have been having there) as their cities become even more overcrowded. If they can get a uniform standard for e-bikes, and find a way to get pre-standard bikes bought back from their owners so they can be redone as compliant bikes and resold cheaply, then things should work out for them.

There is more than one kind of female cyclist just as there is more than one kind of male cyclist. An Open Letter to the Cycling Industry

And on the day before we have more links to Ride of Silence stories. Smith: It’s time to end the silence about O.C. cyclist deaths and Cyclists Cheer on Sunday, Ride In Silence on Wednesday Still nothing from the paper of record for the birthplace of the RoS.

And those are all the links I feel like sharing. I found more but they are such that sharing them will only harm you, and me.

Billed @€0.02, Opus