Happy Star Wars day! And something weird happened

May the Fourth be with you, etc & etc.

We finished the run last week so this week was mostly bookkeeping for the group as loot had to be divvied and karma totaled up and players choosing what to buy and skills to train. The Old Man leveled up his combat skills on guns and blades to 6 and took a level of unarmed combat, then celebrated by getting a sword that folds into his synthetic arm to complement the Cybershot in his leg. So at this level he’s pretty much guaranteed to hit the accuracy limits of all his guns on every roll as his gun rolls are 15 dice and his longarms all have accuracy of 4 and the pistols are either 3 or 4. There were a lot of pistols in the loot from the last run that the owners won’t have use for since they’re dead, even though most were damaged in the battle. There were enough taken that several good pistols could be made by taking the undamaged parts and assembling then into new weapons that the Old Man claimed as his share of the loot since he refused to accept any of the drugs we took from the bad guys. The Old Man is a bit mercenary, but there are limits to what he would take.

I’m still thinking about the Sprint-T, mainly about the nose at the moment but still thinking about the exhaust collector for the tri-y headers. What I’m mainly trying to do is use the collector like a quarter-wave tuned pipe for a 2-stroke engine, having the secondary tubes dumping against a reflective wall to bounce back a resonant wave to pack charge in from the overlap phase of the cam at certain RPM to get an additional torque peak not on the intake peak and spread out the powerband.

OK it is now several hours after I composed the last line about the exhaust of the Sprint-T because something disturbing happened right after I did that, I got a call from a reporter for American Media Inc. asking me about my brother’s ex-wife who was killed in an alligator attack on St. John’s Island SC. I hadn’t checked my text messages for the morning so I missed the one from my brother telling me about it and found out from the media asking my opinion about it. I’m still trying to process an alligator attacking someone I know, and finding out from a reporter asking what I knew about it just made it weird, no, it made it superweird, like X-files weird. And it isn’t the first time I had an alligator in the blog. I actually had a tag for the previous time. I still haven’t fully processed it yet, that Cindy was killed. I’ve seen people get killed, but never anyone I knew.

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Happy Bastille Day, and the Feed

Bonjour to my Francophone readers as we celebrate the destruction of the prison at the Bastille. I look forward to “celebrating” re-enacting the “fun” parts of the French Revolution, the parts where they round up the nobles who have been living off the labors of the peasants while the peasants starved and “feeding” them to Mdme. Guillotine. We have a similar situation in the US brewing, and I make artisanal bicycle-drawn tumbrels with erratic shaking rhythms to make that final ride as uncomfortable and undignified as possible. Combine that with officiating gay marriages and I’ll have pretty stable streams of income 😀 Or just have a baguette and strong coffee.

The Big Story today is the NYC cyclist hit by a driver having a seizure. Cyclist Killed, 6 Hurt in Crash Near Barclays Center: FDNY and Cyclist Killed in Gruesome, Bike-Shattering Accident Outside Barclays also Bicyclist killed in three-car collision in Brooklyn, NYPD says and tangentially Brooklyn BP Bikes Down “Hairy” Flatbush Ave Following Cyclist Death This is the kind of thing that can’t be controlled by anything short of a jersey barrier between the bike lanes and he motor vehicle lanes. But definitely the infrastructure needs some improvement on those streets. A curb or parking protected cycle track would be a good start. Actually I think some jersey barriers and tire shredders on the edges of the lanes might keep the NYPD from parking in them.

Our Daily Ted, Part One. Morning Links: Judge may release Gardena police video, BOLO alert for Ford pickup in Montebello hit-and-run

And Part Two. Breaking News: 58-year old bike rider killed in Garden Grove, reportedly ran red light Again they assume red light running based on the driver’s report.

Remember the guy who went down after hitting alligator guts from a previously dead gator? Cyclist felled by alligator carcass: ‘I have no memory at all of what happened’ Yep, this is familiar.

A Windy City cyclist sues the driver who nearly killed her. Cyclist sues motorist she accuses of injuring her in car crash Just a note, the cyclist is not accusing anyone, that has already been determined in criminal proceedings.

NOLA PD has the suspected perp of killing a cyclist and leaving the scene in custody. Manslaughter arrest made in cyclist Ben Gregory’s hit-and-run death I hope they find a very large book to throw at him… Previous posts cover what I think of hit-and-run drivers.

This is something there is nothing you can do about as a cyclist. Erie Police: 14-Year Old Killed Teen For Bicycle Seriously, what can you do about a 14 YO with a gun except keep riding?

And I guess this link is supposed to be funny if you live in Oz. James Hird has been injured in a road accident while riding his bicycle home From the comments, he was eqully loved and reviled.

Last link, have you heard of he latest weight loss plan? Have You Heard About That Awesome New Bike-Share Diet? It works, but it might cost you a lot in the long run.

And I’m outta links and there is a ShadowRun game getting started in the living room.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the (not) French Poet

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