Really want/need to get my neck rubbed, and the Feed

I’m working around “Arthur, Arthur Dent” as much as I can, and constantly working my neck to extend my range of motion, but DAAAaaaannnnng! do I need a massage right now… I need to get out and pay some things tomorrow, so I might get it done then. It’s not like the problem will go away by itself overnight. Working on the blog does not help matters any, also. My posture while typing is practically guaranteed to cause a neck problem from supporting my head while I type.

And this just in Yr Fthfl Srvnt was declared Next City’s Smartest Reader of the Day yesterday for my comment on the Seattle commuter dilemma.

Up first because of the many links to the story, and because of the high WTF factor involved. Pedestrian killed by falling hydro pole following collision in Concord and Cyclist killed after pole topples in collision of 2 cars also Toronto man charged after cyclist killed in Vaughan crash This was a serious level of pinball wreck that got both cyclists almost square on, as you can see from the crushed bicycles in the pictures with the articles. From watching the videos it seems the cyclists were waiting at the corner for the light to change when the wreck began and dodged one of the cars only to be crushed by the falling power pole. The bike that I assume belonged to the fatality victim was caught right in front of the seat, I can’t tell where the other bike was struck because it was removed from under the pole to treat one of the victims.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: An early endorsement for state senate, registration gets bikes back, and OCTA swims upstream

A literal hit-and-run in Philly. Police seek suspect who struck, killed cyclist with car in Juniata Park And this is the first time I recall seeing a F-150 called a “car”.

Another Philly wreck, where the victim’s survivors are not vindictive. Cyclist’s Family Says They Have No Ill-Will Against Driver Who Killed Him

OR road users are concerned about a recent spike in wrecks. With 40% rise in roadway deaths, activists plan to target ODOT That is an unexplained jump at a time when trends have been sharply down, so what has changed?

A Ghost Bike for the victim of that SUV buzz job in CO. ‘Ghost bike’ memorial to be held for dead cyclist

More on the alligator wreck. Weston cycling crash caused by alligator carcass sidelines spirited two-sport competitor Wow, he really is in bad shape.

A notice to GA riders. Bryan County public safety brief – Agressive Pitbull injures bicycle rider

Some people in the Great White North understand physics. There’s so much more to bike safety than helmets

More from the Great White North. Bike monument and memorial ride honour fallen cyclists This was done at about the same time as the pinball wreck discussed above.

Still more as LEO search the Great White North for a hit-and-run driver. Police seek white pickup truck in fatal hit-and-run

Last Canadian link, is your insurance valid when you are riding a bicycle? Do You Have Insurance Coverage as a Cyclist?

I was wondering what took so long after the driver was found to be driving without a license while driving a big rig involved in a fatal wreck. Freight firm bosses banned after unlicensed, uninsured driver killed cyclist

Also from the UK is another protest at the intersection where crap infrastructure and a blind truck killed a cyclist. Stop Killing Cyclists stage vigil at ‘murderous’ junction and Stop Killing Cyclists to host candlelit vigil to honour life of cyclist killed in midnight crash in Forward Drive

Back a few months ago we all thought this waste of human skin was going to be off the roads for a decent amount of time, not true. Widow of Sheffield cyclist killed by drunk driver lashes out over jail time served Six months into a 4 year sentence and she’s already at a halfway house? TANJ!

They had the only vehicles that could get through, and they were already there. Nepal’s national mountain bike team turn rescuers Another tally in the plus column for bicycle disaster drills. Sometimes the only things moving on the ground are people on foot and bicycles. Give those bicycles some cargo capacity and a mission and see what can be done.

And I’m out of links and I need to go fix dinner.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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Still feeling the high a little bit, and the Feed

I’m still feeling the high a little bit from the SCOTUS decisions last week on gay marriage and the ACA, and every time I log onto Facebook to see if there are any links not in the Feed it’s like I took another toke on the bong. I’m going on distant memory here because I found out that my particular brain chemistry and wiring is not compatible with pot back in 1977, but this is kinda what that felt like back then. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the “Gay Marriage Challenge” page as it has been rendered moot by the SCOTUS last week. I mean the prize has been removed so why still play the game?

On the other decision, the ACA subsidy decision, I can’t tell you how relieved I am that one went the way it did. I mean the policy I have now is about as close to single payer health care as you can get in this country when you factor in the subsidy, but without the subsidy the premium is about 25% more than the combined household income here at Casa de El Poeta, and the OOP limit just about broke the bank here, just for my condition. We still have Mrs. the Poet to get repaired…

And I’m running late again today as I had to finish food shopping when transportation was made available when my son came over to do laundry. It’s cheaper for him to drive over to Casa de El Poeta and use our machine than it is to feed quarters into the machines in the laundry room at his apartment, and he takes us grocery shopping when he does his laundry.

Up first because, why not? is our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Statewide hit-and-run alert bill in trouble; Gil Cedillo shares the outrage at tragedy he helped cause

A road hazard that thankfully is confined to the Deep South. Cyclists Injured in Crash After Slipping on Gator Carcass on Road in Weston this, too Alligator remains cause six cyclist pile up, leaves man fighting for life in Florida I think the Road.cc article is conflating the wreck that killed the gator and sent a motorcyclist sliding down the road with the later wreck that just injured a few cyclists with nothing really more serious than a broken collarbone.

An injured cyclist leads to calls for improved infrastructure in south TX. Bicycle community rallies behind injured cyclist, push stricter laws Go Team Don’t Kill Us

And just a light ride west from WoaB the city of Ft. Worth tries to make their citizens live longer, happier lives. City of Fort Worth Hopes to Get People Walking Till They’re 100 Walking in TX heat is not hard, but it gets much worse when you have to share the road with cars or walk in the mud/dirt off the side of the road with cars driving right next to you. In that there is not much difference between walking and riding a bike in TX.

NYC has a car problem, still. NYPD: Help Us Find This SUV Driver Who Hit A 7-Yr-Old Yep, serious car troubles you got there. Might want to do something about that. This does not exactly count as “something” in that nothing was done, but as they were trying to eviscerate a law to protect people with right of way, nothing is better than doing something bad. Advocates, Mayor de Blasio Fend Off TWU Attack on Traffic Safety Laws I urge a compromise, instead of arresting and jailing the driver that hits someone with right of way in a crosswalk or bike lane just on the spot cancel their driver’s license. Put a punch through the expiration date so it can still be used as an ID but if you can’t control your vehicle so that you can prevent hitting someone minding their own business, then you can’t drive, both in the legal and physical senses.

If it didn’t require the cyclist to have died first this would be good news from MO. Felony charge filed in year-old case of Ozark teen killed on bicycle The victim was in his last year of the IB program, a HS curriculum that would be valid in almost any country in the world. That takes smarts and commitment, and the bozo with an SUV took that away from not just his parents but from everybody. Kids like that change the world, and now he won’t have the chance to try.

This sounds like a rough event. St. Charles cyclist dies after collapsing during Bike MS event

This looks like another infrastructure-related wreck. Update: Cyclist critical after crash with dump truck The route was the least-stressful way of getting across the Interstate but requires drivers to slow down and pay attention. Obviously that is too great a price to ask from motor vehicle operators. Another contributing factor was the nature of the business the weapon vehicle was involved in. Local drivers like this dump truck driver are paid by the run rather than by time or mileage, encouraging drivers to keep their speed as high as possible to get as many runs per day as possible so as to pay off the fixed costs and maybe make a little money on the day. One thing I’m extremely glad about for this particular article and comments, nobody expected a styrofoam hat to make any difference in surviving a dump truck running over you.

A letter from just outside NYC in one of the most car-sick communities in the country. Guest Spot: Cyclists, motorists must learn to coexist

“You’ll get my car keys when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.” In Seattle Region, Half of Drivers Say They Won’t Give Up Solo Commute Pity because we may not have the time to wait for natural causes to take effect. Even ignoring Climate Change, the pollution from I.C.E will drastically shorten the lives of millions, while tens of thousands die from wrecks every year, and thousands more in wars to secure the oil supply (two that are currently going on as I type this). Electric vehicles will help, renewable fuels will help, but we really need to get away from the automobile lifestyle. And I am aware of the irony in that statement as I build the Sprint-T. I like cars, I just don’t like what cars have done to the world.

Some cyclists in GA want better enforcement when drivers kill. Remember and Ride On: Cycling community airs worries Another “If you want to commit murder…” quote.

Things are starting to get a tiny bit better in Jolly Olde though. Man charged with murder after cyclist death appears in court He’s still in jail pending another hearing. And this is a case where I definitely want to know why this man was charged as he was. Most of the time you can’t get a littering charge when a driver leaves a dead body on the side of the road…

More protests in London. Bank junction blocked again by hundreds of cyclists in ‘amazing’ tribute to tragic newlywed, 26 The comments section was priceless this time.

The “tomorrow” mentioned in the headline and article was today, I’m afraid. Tomorrow: Second Bank die-in to protest death of 26 year old cyclist killed while commuting

The medical system in Jolly Olde is trying to outrun the murderous drivers and are just about doing it. West Midlands roads averaging more than one cyclist injury a day This is why the UK changed to KSI rather than a straight fatality tally to monitor road safety.

Cycling in the UK is safe as compared to skydiving without a parachute… The truth about cycling safety

Maybe drivers will see lights projected against your back? Azeri Designer Makes Cycling Safer Probably not…

Need a project, or panniers? Coroplast™ Pannier Build.

And the last link is Faabuuuloouuuussss! Cities Paint Rainbow Crosswalks in a Show of Gay Pride No seriously, have I mentioned how happy I am that some of my best friends can get married now and be just as unhappy as straight people? 😛

And that’s it, I’m done. Stick a fork in me.

Opus the Poet