My BP meds are getting cut in half because reasons, and the Feed

What a day! First the cat tries to apologize for clawing huge gashes in my hand and arm by waking me up after only 1 hour of sleep and crawling into the bed to purr loudly at me, then I spent all day getting to and from the Lab Rat Keeper, then I find out my meds are getting cut because my BP is a bit on the low side, like 100/60. For a guy whose pressures topped out at 200/145 10 years ago this could lead to dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness. None of that is especially good. The good news is if my pressures come back up with lower dosages I get to participate in another side-effect study before the end of this year.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Reminder to expect the unexpected on bike trails; Feds decide bike/ped safety matters, too

Still in CA. Bicyclist killed in Santa Ana hit-and-run identified

From my neck of the woods. How tracking police data by race can make unfair laws look like the cops’ fault Among other things this article identifies one of the main problems of the Metroplex: People don’t work where they live nor live where they work in the main. When only 5% of drivers stopped in a town are residents of that town, you have a problem with sprawl, and auto-centrism because everyone drives even if they don’t want to. So much of this area is a transit desert where if you don’t have a car you are trapped.

Remember that girl driving drunk and backwards when she ran over a cyclist in AK? Anchorage woman will finish college semester before going to jail for cyclist’s death Really? Let her finish school before a summer (maybe) in jail?!? Oh the ignominy. Have to finish college before prison…

Do you feel like you are not welcome among other bike riders? Project highlights stories of people who feel like outsiders in bike scene

Infrastructure in America’s Copenhagen. Active Transportation Summit dispatch: Vision Zero and the myth of freight Except for a tiny few places that are import centers like Long Beach or Houston or Corpus Christie truck traffic just is not that vital to the economy. And even Houston is trying to make more of its street network bike friendly.

If you don’t know where you’re coming from how can you know where you’re going? Unearthed: 1975 City of Portland “From here to there by bicycle” map

More infrastructure news from NYC. Prospect Park West Bike Lane War Continues: “New York City Is Not Amsterdam” and IT’S ALIVE: Judge Revives 5-Year-Old Prospect Park Bike Lane Lawsuit They LOVE bike lanes, just not the one in front of their building, which has raised the value of the units in said building substantially. Maybe that’s the problem, their taxes went up with the rise in property values…

Another dead pedestrian in NYC. Woman Fatally Struck By Sanitation Truck Driver On Upper East Side And for all those wondering why I have so many links from Gothamist and Bike Portland,it’s because I visit those web sites pretty much daily. Anywho, this was another blind driver just proceeding into space that was already occupied, and killing said occupant. And the Universal Get Out of Jail Free card shall be used, “I didn’t see her” and all will be forgiven.

More on the MA hit-and-run killing of a cyclist. Man charged with DUI in hit-and-run that injured cyclist

PA infrastructure story. Holly residents drill council for answers over roundabouts Seriously, you can’t figure out how to use a roundabout?

Another link to the guy looking to ride from BC to Panama getting taken out ²/₃ of the way through WA. Cyclist on B.C. to Panama ride injured in crash Interesting picture they used for the “touring bike”.

More on the CO man getting prison for killing a cyclist. Man gets 10 years for DUI crash that killed bicyclist And I hope he has to do every day of it.

It’s just better reporting on the wrecks, honest! Alan Solot: Tucson bike vs. car crashes aren’t increasing

It’s not really good news, it is a symptom of austerity. Fall in road offences due to reduction in traffic police says Transport Committee

And while we are on the site. Barbed wire booby trap found on Kent cycle trail Either some farmer is missing a section of fence, or all they need to do is ask who bought barbed wire recently at nearby farm supply stores.

And I got this video sent to me by several people from many different sources. Video: How to teach bus drivers to give cyclists space I thought the ones where the “riders” clothes wer actually ruffled by contact with the bus were good, unless the driver was not actually trying to get that close in which case they were fucking terrifying.

Speaking of close passing, this was also terrifying over on the Emerald Isle. Cyclist was thrown over the bonnet of car Cold they have gotten any closer without actually killing the cyclist? I think not.

Another link to the guy who killed a well-liked cyclist going to jail. JAILED: Driver who mowed down Oxford graduate cyclist in head-on-crash

[Facepalm]Cyclists maimed and killed by blind driver, but it’s OK because a cyclist ran a stop sign once.[/Facepalm] Pontevedra cycling tragedy raises concerns over elderly drivers

More on the Ozzie drunk driver killing a cyclist. Cyclist killed by allegedly drunk driver and Qld cyclist killed by intoxicated driver

A really ugly wreck in Oz, more than one link. Port Pirie cyclist killed when truck and riders collide near city and Truck crashes into three cyclists on Germein Rd at Solomontown near Port Pirie You can see the impact site on the passenger side of the truck bumper where the bumper was bent.

And this was just wrong. Holiday blues after woman arrives home from overseas trip to find a parking ticket because her street was rezoned while she was away There were no permits available before leaving, and tickets papering the car when she got back. I mean they hadn’t even decided on the date it was to be implemented when she left…

And have you heard the latest scandal in the pro peloton? Professional cycling’s latest scandal: unshaved legs I used to shave my legs back before I rode a bike with fenders.

And it’s 0430, I have been up 19 hours now on 1 hour of sleep. I’m going to bed, and the cat is staying in the bathroom with his food and litterbox until I get up.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I’m definitely a niche blogger, and the Feed

I got my annual report from WordPress and I could be called “niche” at best with only 11000 views for a full year. That’s a lot of people, but in internet terms I’m just a drop in a very large bucket. So I have been thinking, should I drop the weekday-and-Sunday routine spending every day at my computer and just write when I have something to write about from my daily life, or should I stay inside where there is a huge tree and high curb between me and traffic? Or maybe something in between with a less-frequent update schedule and more life to write about? What do you readers think about it?

The big story is still Ethan Couch’s capture in Mexico. ‘Affluenza teen’ Ethan Couch and mother busted after ordering Domino’s pizza in Puerto Vallarta and ‘Affluenza teen’ Ethan Couch and his mother block extradition from Mexico They caught them because somebody couldn’t live without their phone and it was tracked when they called for pizza delivery. And an “explanation” of “affluenza” for those of us who are “puh” as in “too poor to buy a vowel”. What is affluenza? An explainer for the 99%

After that mess have some massive cute courtesy of BikePortland. Wednesday Video Roundup: commuter bike makeovers, a bike wheel on a car, and more I saw the bike wheel on a car video a couple of months ago from a wheel-building forum.

Another victim in CT. Dedicated bicyclist dies of crash injuries This wreck is unexplained at the moment, because he was hurt in places that are almost impossible to get injured in a solo fall, but there was nothing left behind to indicate a vehicle.

Legal infrastructure from “Famous Potatoes”. Idaho Adds Bicycle Questions to Driving Tests Question from the test: “How many feet should cyclists ride from the edge of pavement to avoid accumulated edge debris? (3 feet)”

Infrastructure news from West Canuckistan. Vancouver aims to reassert itself as a North American cycling leader

Bicycle infrastructure news from Germany. Germany gives green light to bicycle highways and Germany gives green light to bicycle highways Again we see the biggest problem with bicycle infrastructure is paying for it. And their “bicycle autobahn” seems to be more of a rails-to-trails project, which makes sense when you think about it. They’re making limited access bike roads in an urban environment, which means they need to stick in something that was limited-access to begin with, like a railroad right of way.

And this:

It says something about the kind of economy we've built that 'recovery' means rebound in number of people dying in fatal traffic collisions.

— Gary Kavanagh (@GaryRidesBikes) December 30, 2015

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And here I am again with no links left to share.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

We have humidity again 104 F index, and the Feed

Yep, it’s 1430 as I write the top paragraph of “this is my situation” before getting to the gritty gore and broken bodies, and the heat index is 104°F with an actual temperature of 90 at the reporting station closest to my house. That must be right on the lake that is a few miles to the east from WoaB World HQ, because the Downtown Dallas station is reporting 94° with a 96° index. Either one is warm, but the Dallas temperature makes more sense after checking the other reporting station.

I have been looking at the extended stem for Francis/es and I think I will need to sandblast it after I get done fabricating it. There is some surface rust on the raw stock for the extended part, and old paint on the donor stem that would possibly be hard to paint over, so a nice even sandblasted surface would just make things so much nicer. Now I just need to find someone nearby with a sandblaster who would be willing to let me use it for a few minutes…

The Big Story today is the crowd of people lifting a car off a cyclist hit during a sportif event in the UK. Crowd lifts car off cyclist trapped in Guiting Power during cycle event and Cyclist critically injured after being trapped in crash with car during Cotswolds bike event also More praise for rescuers who lifted Audi off critically injured cyclist in Wiggle Cotswold Sportive this, too ‘Brilliant’ people helped lift Audi off cyclist, 18, critically injured in Wiggle Cotswold Sportive From what I can deduce from the description of the scene, either the bike or the car lost control in the gravel causing the cyclist to end up under the car. Since this is a UK wreck odds are we will never know exactly what happened. Late link Update on critically injured cyclist freed from beneath car on organised bike ride in Cotswolds

Next biggest was the drunk driver with a revoked license hitting a group of cyclists and leaving the scene. Man arrested for seriously injuring cyclist in hit-and-run and Suspect in hit-run crash with cyclist was barred from driving OK, lets total the charges, driving drunk, driving after his license was revoked with cause, and hitting a total of 3 cyclists in separate collisions then leaving the scene(s). And they set bail? TANJ! He’s already shown himself to be a flight risk.

Still working the multiple links, this Canadian driver is up to his neck in hot water. Charges laid in crash that killed 2 cyclists, passenger near Pemberton and Samuel Alec charged in fatal cyclist crash in Pemberton “He has been charged with three counts each of criminal negligence causing death, impaired driving causing death, and driving with a BAC over 0.08. He was also charged with failing to remain at the scene of the accident.” I’m trying to wrap my head around just how bad this wreck was, with 2 dead outside the car and one dead inside it. If the passenger was killed by impact with the cyclists this would be a wreck of immense magnitude. I mean at least a speed of 80 MPH, and probably higher.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Shaming the fat shamers, USA Pro Challenge starts today, and more Mobility Plan fallout

One (1) person in GA gets it. Share roads with cyclists Notice the comments after the letter, then weep for the future of humanity.

Talk about getting lost. Deliveryman Arrested For Biking Wrong Way Through Holland Tunnel You know part of the problem is NY still refuses to follow the Federal regulations that say an e-assist bike that meets certain regulations is a bicycle. Full stop end of argument.

Another NY story, this one from Upstate. Cyclist hit by TZExpress Bus in Valley Cottage Nothing much about how, and very little about what. Comments said it was a left cross.

Another dead cyclist in NY. Woman identified in fatal Hammond truck-bicycle accident SMH, “It’s a county road, and it’s hard to ride on that road,” he said. “We hate to see something like this happen in the town.” Not explicitly blaming the victim, but blaming the victim anyway. It’s not hard to ride on that road, it’s hard to drive on that road without hitting cyclists because you want to drive fast.

Sounds like another left cross in MA. Cyclist Injured in Crash With Van “Dunphy was cited for failure to yield and improper turning.” The cyclist was thrown 30 feet from the impact site by the wreck. That is quite an impact.

Another young cyclist hit in ME. Boy seriously injured when SUV hits his bike in Lewiston AFAIK this was a residential area, not a busy highway. The driver should have been paying more attention.

Update on the Alaskan affluenza case. Sentencing begins for teen who killed cyclist in DUI crash Three years is nowhere near enough for this death, anything less than the maximum sentence would be a travesty.

An IL cyclist is killed. Galesburg teen struck and killed by SUV while riding bike I have lost count of the SWSS wrecks today… This is another one.

A St. Louis cyclist killed by the usual suspects. St. Louis bicyclist killed in car crash Another SWSS wreck leaves another dead cyclist.

A Seattle safety sign showed real cyclists without helmets instead of the magic foam hat brigade. Oops: City safety campaign touted on signs showing helmet-less bicycle riders Lots of “my helmet saved my life” delusions in the comments section.

They have a lot of survivors of bike/car wrecks in Canuckistan. Babin: The survivors — Cyclists hit by cars share their frustration over driver attitudes (updated) The comments section is funny, if you like reading about people wanting to kill cyclists.

I think Russia is playing mind games with Finland again. Cycling safety protesters in Helsinki knocked over by bus during demonstration The cyclists were protesting a deliberate murder by motor vehicle being treated as an “accident”, when the bus driver tried to run them over. And then people wonder why the cyclists got angry and took away the keys from the bus driver, to the point of charging the cyclists with “traffic endangerment” for preventing the bus driver from hitting more cyclists? Since when is preventing an assault with a deadly weapon “traffic endangerment”?

A little infrastructure discussion from Oz. Big decisions needed to make ‘fundamentally unsafe’ road system safe for cyclists: expert

And final link is from Enn Zed. Cyclist injured in Christchurch hit-and-run – police Hook or cross wreck compounded by the hit-and-run.

And there will be a slight delay in getting the post up tomorrow because D&D!

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Unkillable Badass Poet (two more weeks until my Death Day Celebration)

It took a while but I got my neck rubbed, and the Feed

I got up early this morning to go to my massage appointment a few miles west of Casa de El Poeta, about an hour by bus. I could get there faster if I could ride my bike there, but if I could ride my bike there I wouldn’t need to go. Anywho, I get there and the office is locked and nobody is answering the phone. a few minutes later the other therapist gets there and says my therapist isn’t in (duh!) and she’s booked solid for the whole day, and BTW the price of the hour session I have been getting has gone from $60 to $100, no haggling. I barely have the budget to pay for the original price, the 67% increase is just not gonna work. The place where I get my toes done has a neck and shoulder massage for $30, but it ignores most of my muscles to concentrate on “Arthur, Arthur Dent” and supporting muscles. It is leaps and bounds better than nothing, but about the same distance away from the benefits of a full massage. I will have to see if I can get massage at a better location/price before next week.

Up first because of proximity and number of links initially during filtering is this wreck. SANTA FE POLICE RECOVER PICKUP BELIEVED TO HAVE FATALLY STRUCK TEEN ON BICYCLE That link was completely different when I was doing the filtering, and another link from the same source turned into this link after filtering. Teen bike rider struck, killed by hit-and-run driver Two things to note here: First is even though this was late at night LEO are not making an issue about the cyclist’s visibility, or helmet, second is there was a witness that reported the driver left the road to hit the cyclist before driving off. This was not a wreck that a cyclist could avoid, in fact the victim in this wreck had done everything in his power to not be in the wreck, other than not being there. And as he was returning from his girlfriend’s home to his there wasn’t anything he could have done to “not be there”.

More on another possible case of “affluenza” in AK. Anchorage teen who hit, killed cyclist in court Friday and Sentencing for killer of bicyclist begins in Anchorage This was the princess who “celebrated” getting out of drug rehab by throwing a party with alcohol, pot, “molly”, and cocaine. She was still drunk and high according to toxicology results of a blood draw taken almost 3 hours after the 1000 wreck.

Another link to that brutal hit-and-run a few hours west of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Bicyclist killed by hit-and-run driver in Haltom City Again, the bike in this wreck was so mangled by the driver driving away with it trapped under her vehicle that I can’t determine any useful information from it.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Reflections on crappy cyclist, sailor charged in fatal hit-and-run, and more Mobility madness

Another nighttime hit-and-run where cyclist visibility was not mentioned. Bicyclist killed in Phoenix hit-run crash In fact about the only thing known for sure in this wreck was the driver left the scene and left enough bits and pieces around that they were able to find the weapon vehicle in short order.

Another Upstate NY cyclist is killed. Cyclist Killed In Accident Identified and Update: No Charges in Hammond Bike Death Given the narrative I’m shocked! (not shocked) that there were no charges in this wreck. It’s as if nobody in this burg had ever heard about the oldest traffic law on the books, not to drive any faster than you could stop in the distance you could see clearly.

Update on the psychopath who has been assaulting Mpls cyclists with thrown objects, usually chunks of concrete, thrown from either a Ford Bronco or a short-bed pickup truck with a bed capper and one rear window replaced with plywood. Police reveal new clues in hunt for driver hitting Mpls. bicyclists with concrete and as People magazine discovers the story Spree of Attacks on Bicyclists in Minneapolis

Hey they caught the guy that killed the kid in NJ. Arrest Made in Hit-Run That Killed Teen Riding Bicycle in New Jersey It is no surprise that the killer did not have a valid license when he left the scene. Maybe this time they will take his vehicle instead of the license that he does not have.

I’m not the only one to notice that SFPD has different standards for people on bicycles and people in cars. The SFPD’s campaign against biking There have been 2 deaths caused by cyclists hitting pedestrians this century (or in the records of the SFPD going back to the big quake), but obviously the problem is bikes, not cars.

Just weeks before the World Cycling Championships, motor vehicle mayhem in Richmond VA. Cyclist injured after being hit by oncoming car The only witness never mentions seeing a weapon vehicle just the aftermath, so I’m going to say this was probably a hit-and-run, and since the bike was hit from the side at the back of the bike I’m thinking the driver of the weapon vehicle failed to obey a traffic control or they would have stayed at the scene.

Just because an idiot driver almost kills you and then jumps out of the weapon vehicle to make it personal doesn’t mean you should keep hitting him until he stops trying to hit back. Corte Madera man sues cyclist over road-rage beating in Mill Valley It gets even better, the driver of the truck that hit the cyclist was drinking the day he hit the cyclist.

Well, at least this GA cyclist gets a little compensation for her pain and disfigurement. Injured Athens cyclist lawsuit settled for $850,000 I wonder what my lawsuit would be worth, had they ever caught the driver tht almost killed me?

There may be some infrastructure changes coming for Beantown. After Fatal Bike Crash, One Expert On How To Make Boston Safer For Cyclists and Plans Underway to Revamp Boston’s Seaport Traffic If I make a small suggestion, severely restrict semis with long trailers, they seem to be over-represented in the death statistics. I would go with the bicycle outriders mentioned in earlier posts about the cyclist hit by the deadheading semi towing the flatbed trailer as the best compromise over an outright ban. Also this would lead to higher employment for people who can ride a bike fast.

While we are discussing infrastructure, here’s a shitty “deal” offered Portland by ODOT. State’s proposal to improve bike crossings of Powell: Remove bike lane from 26th

And thanks to helicopter parents the child death rate on bicycles has gone down. Report: Bicyclist Death Rates Fell for Kids, Rose for Men

Drivers in West Canuckistan forget they are supposed to be “nice” Canadians. Cyclist hit on Lower Springbank Road shows clashes are continuing with drivers Combine this with the several earlier reports of deliberate assault with motor vehicles, and things look grim.

Things are getting nasty over on the Emerald Isle, too. Experts warn 100 people could be killed on our roads before end of year If that seems like a rather low number remember that Ireland is about 3/5 the size of Arkansas (32,595 sq mi compared to 53,179 sq mi) and 100 deaths would be … not very much for Arkansas .

Are cyclists treated differently by the courts in Oz? Canberra cyclist appeals against order to pay fellow rider $1.7 million for crash Let me get this straight, a cyclist hits some road trash and wrecks out and takes a second cyclist with him and the second cyclist is hit by a car, and the first cyclist is out $1.7 MILLION?!? How much did the driver of the car have to pay?

An art installation/bicycle repair station honors a fallen CO cyclist. Duggan: Trail-side sculpture honors man gone too soon

And I’m outta links finally. Sleep now, Opus tired at 0346

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Unkillable Badass Poet

I survived telling the world how old Mrs. the Poet is, and the Feed

All I got yesterday was a playful slap across the top of my head after Mrs. the Poet read my blog post. So I’m still alive and still married (sorry groupies). And I have a freaking huge Feed today, so let’s get to it.

More on that moron with “affluenza”. Ethan Couch, ‘Affluenza’ Teen, Facing 5 Lawsuits Incidentally there are 2 known and effective cures for “affluenza” to date. One is the complete removal of all wealth from the “victim”. This cure does not result in instant return to “normalcy”, the effects take from one to 5 years to wear off. The second is more drastic and effective, but does nothing for future behavior because the “victim” is terminated with extreme prejudice and therefore has no future behavior. And I apologize for previous statements that DUI(minor) was a felony, that bill did not pass and DUI(minor) is still a class C misdemeanor, even with multiple convictions, and can not result in any jail or prison time only a fine and community service up to a maximum of 60 hours CS. I was right that DUI(minor) is triggered by any detectable amount of alcohol in the blood, but I believe that when the minor has a BAC% that would be DUI for an adult the crime should then be a felony. I’m making that suggestion to my state rep this week.

From NYC comes another pedestrian casualty in the “War on Cars”. Pedestrian Seriously Injured In Murray Hill Access-A-Ride Crash The cars are winning the war by sheer attrition.

Bouncing all over the country today, a ND driver gets a two-fer. Bismarck man accused of striking man on bike, pedestrian I would think the coming back and hitting the other person should make both of these assaults with a deadly weapon, but then again as a victim of an assault with a deadly weapon I might be a teensy bit biased about the subject. But because “FU, cars” the driver is only facing misdemeanor charges with under a year in jail as a sentence.

From CA drivers are actually ticketed for driving without a license immediately after their licenses were suspended in court. Sting Catches Drivers With Suspended Licenses Driving Away From Sonoma County Court They actually towed and impounded the cars of people driving without a license, some of whom were suspended for DUI. Given that at least some of the people caught in this sting were on trial for driving without a license or on a suspended license I consider this poetic justice, the highest form of justice 😉

Still in CA a cyclist is hit from behind while trying to get to work. Cyclist struck by car, injured on Stony Point Road Hit from behind protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. The LEO in this case showed remarkable knowledge of the laws of physics when he described the bicyclist as colliding with the car that hit him from behind.

Still in CA a cyclist is hit from behind (or right hooked maybe) by a semi. Police: Big rig hits and kills bicyclist in West Oakland Since the mode of the wreck has not yet been released the only thing I can say with assurance about the wreck is semis running over cyclists means the infrastructure is horrible.

In MA the ID of a cop that hit a cyclist is kept a deep, dark secret. Boston Police Won’t Disclose Officer Involved in Summertime Cyclist Crash The description of the damages strongly suggests a buzz job or simply merging into a space already occupied by the cyclist, the buzz job can be avoided with hit from behind protocols but getting merged over not so much.

From Far West Canuckistan comes a report that deer are either really stupid or have terrible depth perception. Woman cyclist hits deer, suffers minor injuries

From even farther west than the last paragraph is this wreck. Vancouver Island cyclist struck by second driver as he lay injured on highway Looking at the Street View of the intersection it looks like the cyclist may have been caught by a stale or short green phase when crossing the main highway as it is 5 lanes wide there (plus shoulders) and the cyclist was hit while crossing the 4th lane and knocked into the 5th. At best I can suggest intersection protocols to deal with the built environment, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

From the UK a driver who had already been banned from driving due to DUI convictions was driving drunk when he killed a cyclist. Banned driver was drunk when he killed cyclist, court told I still don’t understand why people who kill while driving without a license are not charged with weapons violations.

A cyclist in Oz is hit by a driver who was seriously out of control. Car crashes into young Qld cyclist Given the extensive list of property damage concurrent with this wreck, either the driver was trying to kill the cyclist or there was some kind of medical emergency just prior to the collision. Since the direction of travel and lane positions were not given in the narrative I can’t say how to avoid and to be honest it doesn’t look like infrastructure would have been much help in preventing this one either.

Still in Oz a cyclist gets nailed at an intersection. Cyclist in coma after collision with truck This wreck was so similar to the one in the previous paragraph that I had to check my map of Australia to make sure Sydney wasn’t in Queensland (it’s in NSW).

Infrastructure! news from CA. Fire Department hindering street safety There are no words…

In Oz a company is treating a public access as its own property after it was built. Federation bike trail barricaded by concrete company Now I may be wrong about this but I’m pretty sure this company has to use public space to get to where the concrete is needed and that getting to that public space requires a driveway permit to connect to the road/street. I’m also pretty sure you get where I’m heading on this one…

First of a pair of fun links is from Bikeyface. PLOWED It must be nice to live in a place where the roads get plowed when it snows…

And in what can only be described as pushing things to the absurd limits, someone rides a Boris Bike up Mount Ventoux and gets it back before the fine for taking the bike more than 24 hours hits. Cyclist takes on Mont Ventoux in Boris bike adventure – video This is taking a bar bet way too far.

And those were all the bike links that gave me fits (or not) today. Some of this was actually fun.

Billed @€0.02, Opus