Grocery day, and the Feed

One thing Mrs. the Poet and I have never seemed to come to a consensus on is my desire for salty snacks. I mean sure she lets me buy them most weeks, but every so often I can tell she just does not understand why I want those snacks. Personally I feel $4 for a pound of cheese balls in a reusable and resealable container is a bargain, particularly when name-brand cheese puffs cost nearly that much for half as much by weight and they come in a bag that lets the uneaten snacks go stale in a couple of days. I mean look at it this way, not only am I getting a full pound of snacks, I’m getting a free cookie jar for her snacks. Also we are getting 10 quarts of Powerade for $0.69/qt because, reasons. And I’m also having difficulty persuading her to get the salt that is 50/50 sodium chloride and potassium chloride to deal with my potassium deficiency, because she can get store brand salt for $0.59 a pound and the potassium mix is like $1.50/4 oz.

Schadenfreude over a man who has done everything in his power to endanger cyclists with bad infrastructure. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Hospitalized With Suspected Tumor Not wishing Rob Ford to die soon. That would be too kind… And really I don’t wish him to suffer, much (a few days, please?) because really if he was to get an equal amount of pain for all the pain he has personally brought on Toronto cyclists with his policies he would be in agony for pretty much the rest of his life. For those with (blessed) short memories Mayor Ford compared riding a bicycle to swimming with sharks, and said that all cyclists deserved to die horribly in a wreck with a motor vehicle. I guess all I really have to say is “Ain’t karma a bitch, Robby?”

Another hit-and-run killer, this time in WV. Man Arrested In Connection With Death Of Boy Struck, Killed On Bicycle The story actually changed as I was creating the link, first it was just a hit-and-run, then it turned into an arrest report. Congratulations to the LEO who tracked him down and arrested the driver of the weapon vehicle. Hit from behind wreck of a cyclist not even riding on the road, protocols moot, so infrastructure “up to Dutch’ to prevent. And crush the vehicles used to commit hit-and-run as part of that infrastructure.

OK strange story time in IN. Officials: Muncie man killed in bike accident; sister found dead in home next day by deputy coroner SWCC wreck for the cyclist, who knows what happened for the sister. The infrastructure that got the cyclist killed was obviously not “up to Dutch” or the cyclist would not have been able to be hit when crossing the intersection of the bike path and the road.

A SWCC wreck in CA. Cyclist killed in crash on San Juan Grade Road at Crazy Horse Canyon Classic SWCC narrative claiming a cyclist pulled out in front of a speeding car just as the car came along to hit him/her. Since there is an intersection nearby protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Another wreck in CA, this one hit-from-behind. Long-haul cyclist injured in Highway 1 crash near Santa Cruz Hit from behind 2 feet off the road, not the cyclist’s fault or much she could have done to avoid it. I’m going to blame this one on CA not being the Netherlands.

Right hook in West Canuckistan. Cyclist injured Intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. I like wrecks with survivors who will recover and simple-to-solve problems.

I can’t believe they posted this in a UK media outlet… Cyclists airlifted after van crash between Swindon and Royal Wootton Bassett As the story reads now the cyclist were hit by a van that crossed the centerline into the cyclist’s side of the road. I don’t know how long that will stay up. As the story reads now there was nothing the cyclists could have done to change the outcome of this wreck, leaving only getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Hit and run by a distracted driver in the Emerald Isle. Cyclist knocked down and killed by driver who was using his laptop at the wheel and Driver who fatally hit cyclist (19) with car and ‘callously’ drove away without ever taking foot off accelerator jailed The driver did not get anything close to the sentence he deserved, but as I understand it Ireland no longer has a death penalty. Pity, because hanging, drawing, and quartering barely covers what happened in this wreck. Three years in prison does not even come close for a wreck and subsequent behavior like this one.

Update on a wreck in Enn Zed. Injured cyclist remains critical Still hit-from-behind on the shoulder of the road by a driver that could not keep in the proper lane, still infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A fatal wreck in Oz. Young woman killed in South Brisbane crash Killed while waiting for traffic to clear to make her turn, surrounded by sub-standard bike “infrastructure” that failed to allow for cyclists wanting to turn. And why didn’t the driver of the semi just wait behind her? Get that infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent another wreck. More Brisbane, Fast, First: Cyclist dies in collision with truck and the latest breaking news – September 11

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: AAA promotes 3-foot law they previously fought; Brown legalizes triple bike racks on buses Good stuff.

Infrastructure! news from Oz. Clover’s deluded death wish list for Sydney’s cyclists Really, jihad against cars? Bubba, you ain’t seen jihad if you think making a little (tiny bit) of space for some other mode of transportation is a jihad against cars.

Lifestyle from IL. Jacob Bass, Bridgeport Cyclist Killed, Has Music Scholarship Named for Him

And this review of a revamped A2B e-assist bike. A2B launches Entz e-bike with frame-integrated motor and gearless shifting

And those were all the links that gave me fits or giggles today, plus shopping for groceries. You would not believe the amount of food we bought today. It completely filled the back of a 2010 Honda Insight.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Advertisement

Well, this is just wonnderfullll, and the Feed

One of the nice things about owning a laptop computer is the ability to work anyplace you can create a lap. So I’m starting this post off-line while sitting on the DART bus to go to the Lab Rat Keeper for a medication adjustment. Today will be a long one as I need to refill one of my meds they can’t keep at the LRK office, so I have to go to the pharmacy that is a 3 hour bus ride each way. I’m hoping I can find a massage therapist out in that neck of the woods because my neck and shoulders are killing me because of the lipoma on my neck. I had a pain riding Francis/es to the RPG Saturday that has abated but never quite left ever since. the lump on the back of my neck has gotten so big that it interferes with holding my head back while riding in a normal bike-riding posture even without a helmet. And as Mrs. the Poet was saying the other day, for me to ride without my helmet there has to be something seriously wrong.

On another front, I am about to have to replace my beloved tie-dye army sun hat, that I wear as a celebration of not getting permanently killed by the hit-and-run. You can see what that hat looks like if you go back earlier in the year to my post about the St, Patty’s Day parade on Greenville Avenue and look at the “selfie” I took. I have been searching for a replacement for several months now and have been unable to locate anything that would be suitable. None of my local stores that sells tie-dye carry hats of any description, much less the style I’m looking for. I still have several versions of military sun hat (boonie hat) in various kinds of camo that are in good shape, so I may have to abandon my beloved tie-dye for more conventional sun protection. I would really hate to have to do that, but sun protection is more important than metaphoric thumbing my nose at a dead guy (now that I know he’s dead).

And now that I have completed the trip to the Lab Rat Keeper I have such good news [/sarcasm]. That lump on my neck has been re-diagnosed as a sebaceous cyst instead of the lipoma we thought it was for the last 9 years. Turns out they can do this, pop up someplace and just hang out for a few years, then start growing quickly and becoming a nuisance like what has happened with mine. The sore spot on the bottom of my foot is a minor infection that healed over and built up a callus. I must have gotten it when I was walking to the mailbox barefoot. And yes, there was that much nerve damage that such a thing could happen and I not notice it until it turned into something like what I have now.

Up first is a bunch of different links from the southern part of TX. Cyclist struck, killed in NE Houston and Local man, 79, killed in northeast Harris County truck-bicycle accident Cyclist was killed when a turning vehicle went through his lane and into the ditch, hitting the cyclist from behind. The cyclist was following TX VC 551.103 and riding in the middle of the lane that was too narrow for a cyclist and a motor vehicle to safely share, other reports have the cyclist being hit from behind as the weapon vehicle completed its turn, meaning the cyclist was plainly visible crossing in front of the driver of the weapon vehicle before making the turn. I don’t know where the cyclist could have gone to not get hit in this wreck as the weapon vehicle went completely off the road and into the ditch after using the entire lane to make its turn. I’m not even all that sure that getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have helped either as the weapon vehicle went off the road after hitting the cyclist, making it entirely possible that the cyclist would have been hit riding in the segregated bike lane that Dutch infrastructure would install here.

A very short distance (Texas “short”) from that wreck is another wreck. Woman, 68, charged in cyclist’s death According to this report the driver was pulled off the road looking for an address while moving and not watching in front of her vehicle when she hit the cyclist directly from behind. Again if the cyclist was hit hard enough to get killed then the driver was driving too fast for conditions, making this charge appropriate for the crime. I read the comments because I’m already crazy and can’t get any worse. I advise against any of you doing it.

More on the cyclist killed while riding in a bike lane in Harlingen. Friends remember Harlingen cyclist killed along roadway and Car versus cyclist: Drivers need to share the road And that second link sums it up nicely, cars are deadly weapons that need control constantly, and cyclists have no protection against getting hit by cars. Also there is a possibility that the driver may have been either sleep-deprived or DUI when he hit the cyclist IN THE BIKE LANE…

Getting out of TX, or at least reporting from someplace else, a cyclist is hit-and-run in CA. MAN ON BIKE SERIOUSLY INJURED IN HIT AND RUN The narrative is the cyclist was hit just past the intersection in hit-from-behind wreck, but intersection protocols would still apply here because of the proximity to that intersection, to avoid or reduce damages, and most likely infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent a similar wreck in the future.

Still in CA. Bicyclist killed in collision with car in El Camino Village This is another link to the cyclist killed walking his bike in the crosswalk with the light. This is a wreck that no amount of infrastructure will prevent so long as idiots are allowed to drive weapons of mass destruction around as transportation.

Another reason why FL leads the US in dead and maimed cyclists and pedestrians. Trial likely in death of Lakewood Ranch cyclist killed in April car accident “Damery was cleared of criminal wrongdoing following a three-month traffic homicide investigation by Florida Highway Patrol, which stated she suffered from attention deficit disorder and lack of sleep the day the accident occurred. The report indicated Damery told troopers she had not slept the previous night nor taken her prescribed medication.” OK am I the only person that does not see “Impaired driver” in that statement? No sleep and NOT on her meds. Even with infrastructure “up to Dutch” there is the very real possibility that this wreck would have happened anyway as the driver ran a red light when she hit the cyclist.

This multi-bike pileup during a race leaves one dead and one maimed. RF man injured in biking accident; Eau Claire woman’s injuries fatal This is why I dislike riding in pelotons. I don’t mind drafting when I’m in my car because I have lots of protection around me, but on a bike one touch of the wheels can be fatal to someone riding 3 bikes back.

A WY wreck turns tragic as the cyclist dies in hospital. Cyclist dies following Friday truck accident The current narrative reads like the semi was too close to the cyclist and something caused the cyclist to bobble and wind up under the trailer tires. Since there was no mention of any turning movements on the part of the semi I will discount the rear tires tracking inside of the tractor being a factor in the wreck, which makes the initial close pass even more puzzling. This is one I have no idea how to avoid in the built environment, but I know that in Dutch infrastructure there are many meters of separation between those two vehicle types to prevent anything like this wreck.

Far West Canuckistan has a cyclist “running” a red light. Victoria-area cyclist, pedestrian hit in morning commute OK I’m not going to say I don’t think a cyclist would run a red light, I have done it by accident myself looking for cross traffic and missing the light changing. Because of this I’m going to place this wreck in the category of “not preventable by physical infrastructure changes” even though I would bet money I don’t have that given infrastructure that works for cyclists would prevent most red light jumpers and runners.

Another cyclist tries to beat a train with predictable results. Cyclist struck, killed by AMT train in St-Jérôme I’m not even going to explain this one, it has become too repetitious even for my OCD.

A UK report of a cyclist “meeting” a pedestrian. Pedestrian hurt in collision with cyclist in Barnsley Since they never mentioned hitting the pedestrian on the “pavement” as they refer to sidewalks in the UK, this has to be a wreck in the road, one the cyclist was able to tumble away from and the pedestrian was not. I think that means a distracted pedestrian but because of UK media laws this will probably be the first and last time we read about it.

Still in Jolly Olde a cyclist runs into the chain between two bollards blocking the bike path from motor vehicles. Caernarfon cyclist dies after crashing into bollard chain I suppose that if drivers can get a pass for “not seeing” cyclists, a cyclist could get a pass for “not seeing” a thin chain stretched across his path except he died from the wreck where drivers who “don’t see” cyclists are uninjured as a rule.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: CHP motorcycle cop demonstrates his ignorance of the law; meet LADOT’s Seleta Reynolds I have to say I got pretty steamed at that video. I loathe LEO who are ignorant of the law they are supposed to be enforcing.

Infrastructure! news. When adding bike lanes actually reduces traffic delays

I know these things make people feel better, but do they think this would have prevented a driver both drunk and high on meth from driving the wrong way? New Road Signs, Arrows Coming to Fiesta Island

“Infra” from PA. Q&A with Bike Pittsburgh This is one of the 5 “e”s of infrastructure, Education.

Not to be outdone from the Great White North. Drivers, cyclists both need to show respect on the roads, cycling officials say Drivers need to show respect because they are controlling light armored vehicles that can kill with the mis-timed flick of a finger, cyclists need to show respect because it is polite. [sarcasm]Yeah this is a totally balanced equation here… [/sarcasm]

Lifestyle from the East Coast by way of the UK. Nephew vows to finish uncle’s romantic journey after he was killed by a homeless man while cycling to propose to his girlfriend

And those were all the links that I normally would have found had I not started at 1700 after the trip to the LRK today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet