Are we having fun yet? and the Feed

Today is Grocery Day again, and we saved a whole lot of money on “stuff” because I’m on a diet until I get enough money to rebuild Blue. I was nearly 220 at the doctor’s office on Monday and all the extra weight is causing other issues with my legs and feet. So I’m deleting all the soda and salty snacks from my diet as well as other things I used to nibble on from time to time. Since I can’t get more exercise until I can see where I’m going I have to go the other route and restrict caloric intake, or to use the vernacular, “Stop stuffing my pie hole!”

On the “See where I’m going” front, I have an appointment Tuesday for an MRI to see how big and/or invasive the thing on the back of my neck has become. This office is even further away than the PCP, I have to walk by that office about a quarter-mile to get to the imaging center. That means about 2 miles round trip on foot with no sidewalks from the closest bus stop to the imaging center. I’m hoping for good weather but late March in Texas is a crapshoot on weather.

Up first today is a double update on the “reflective clothing” bill in OR. Reflective clothing mandate, other bike bills up for hearing in Oregon house – UPDATED and the update to the update Oregon House Rep gives up on mandatory reflective clothing bill This bill was completely gutted with all the original language removed. “HB3255 bill will not be moving forward in its original form, and will have nothing to do with reflective clothing. The bill will be amended to fully delete its original language, and only require a red light to be visible from the rear of the bicycle at night. This is an amendment to the existing law for bicycle equipment requirements, ORS 815.280 (http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/815.280). Current law already requires a rear reflector at night.” There is a link in the article to the full text of the bill.

Are you a bike hacker? BICYCLE CONTEST Make something awesome, take step-by-step pictures that someone else could use to figure out how to do it themselves, write instructions that fill in the gaps not covered by the pictures, submit, and with a little luck “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!”

Another follower of WoaB is probably a better writer than I am. Barging in TriBeCa, a Top Gear boor – and why I’m proud to be a Roundhead worrywart See I’m mostly a stream of consciousness writer when I’m not writing fiction, or translating Geek to English, but this guy can actually write with historical references and everything.

Our Daily Ted touches on a few sensitive topics today. Morning Links: Justice for San Diego thrill kill victim, Griffith Park feeder ride, and CD4’s Ryu finally responds Seriously, that guy that killed the cyclist in SD was a real stupid git, all he needed to do was hit the cyclist from behind and either claim he “swerved outta nowhere” or that the cyclist was invisible (I didn’t see him) before the wreck, et voila random murder without consequences beyond a little sheetmetal work and a new paint job paid for by insurance. But no, he had to pass the cyclist, stop and get out and shoot the cyclist with a shotgun, the idiot.

Something I have been advocating for a while and wish had been available when I was hit in 2001. Cyclists mounting cameras on bikes for their protection Seriously a rear-facing camera would have gotten at least the basics of what happened possibly even a license plate number as well as the make and color of vehicle that hit me and documentation of the damage sustained by the weapon vehicle. Instead I get months of flack from the LEO assigned to my case and nothing in the way of justice.

More on the cyclist killed by a dump truck driver while she was on a charity ride. No charges in Ride the Rideau crash that killed cyclist, police say I’m not sure I remember this wreck correctly out of the thousands I have covered but I think the cyclist was either left-crossed or right hooked in the wreck, both violations of the Highway Act, but apparently not applicable if the victim was riding a bike.

After another call for bicycle licenses for riders by candidates for alderman in the Windy City, someone dredges up actual facts about the subject. Why Bicycle Licensing (Almost) Never Works The only way it works requires changing the laws on retail sales statewide and somehow closing borders to bringing in bikes from out of state. So, nope, not gonna work in Chi-Town. For all those thinking that bicycle registration or rider licensing is such a good idea, why not require a Chicago -specific driver’s license? After all there are special Chicago laws for driving that drivers need to know about, so why not make sure people know about them by charging a couple of thousand dollars to take a test before entering the city limits?

And this tasty tid-bit from OR. Bike theft ‘kingpin’ admits crime to local TV reporter The problem is fueled by people buying the stolen parts cheap, because, duh, they are stolen. Stop the trade in stolen goods and you cut the problem off at the knees.

Some Portland infrastructure that does not pass the CROW manual test. Another use for green? City adds bike refuges at SE Ankeny/Sandy/11th I know, something had to be done, and there was (next to) no budget to do it. But I’m getting disgusted with the whole process that doesn’t actually get more butts in bike seats and only marginally improves safety for people already riding bicycles.

Another link to the driver that got out of his car to commit attempted murder in Jolly Olde. Police hunt driver who punched cyclist who was then hit by oncoming car Seriously, this guy could have gotten someone killed or permanently injured. He needs to be found and then held without bail as a danger to himself and others.

Why are they installing bollards in the middle of a car-free space? Cyclist’s fury at ‘unnecessary’ new posts which knocked him off his bike in Redhill Not just bollards but black bollards that are almost invisible in low or flat light. I would be incensed as well even if I didn’t get hurt in the incident.

One of the Good Guys. Hero cyclist foils mugging gang by chasing them on his bike… while filming them flee

The survivors of a deceased cyclist go for a “sue ’em all, one will crack and testify against the rest” strategy. Family of cyclist killed in Stanley Park files suit This was an unnecessary wreck, there is plenty of room for a bike lane in each direction in the street, that sidewalk is way too narrow to use as a MUP, and the speed limit is too high. Also there were pedestrians that may have caused (pushed) the cyclist to leave the sidewalk. That has been my theory from the get-go.

Justice or Just Us? Hong Kong court rules murdered cyclist deserved what he got The cyclist was hit head-on by a driver attempting to pass a vehicle going the other direction and who had a driving record that to put it bluntly stunk to high heaven.

Eulogy for a cyclist. ‘Everything about him spelled New Orleans,’ says family of cyclist killed in Terrytown

And I think I have run out of links or sanity, one or the other.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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Going on a “date” with my wife, and the Feed

As I checked the Feed this morning I only had a single link, so I’m going to do things with my wife while she has a break from work and have a ‘date” at the local B&N coffeeshop and check back later with the results of the “date” and also see if there are some more links. Of course you won’t see this until after I get back, because I won’t do the rest of the post until then, so stop reading for a few minutes, and worry about the “date”, then read the rest of the post…

OK I’m back. We looked at some books in the “School reading” section of the store, and compared the books to the ones we had to read 35-40 years ago (some of the books had not been written when we were in school) looked at a few magazines (and cried over the prices, $7 and up), and had a beverage and split an Oreo Stack dessert at the coffeeshop, the wife having Black Tea, hot and I had a no-foam latte. It was nice and we had a nice chat away from the usual distractions of home and SQUIRREL! (church joke)

Up first because I like nice things at the start of the links is this picture. Twin Cities Bike Picture of the Day: 3.15.12 Isn’t that pretty?

The big story is a cyclist hit by a drunk driver in NC. NCHP: Cyclist Critical After Being Hit By Drunken Driver and Cyclist Hit, Critically Injured By Drunk Driver In Lexington more Bicyclist remains in critical condition after accident” last link Share The Road On An Interstate? Bicycle Laws Clarified. OK from what I can get from this the cyclist was in a grey area because the road was I-85 Business, not an actual Interstate. At any rate the driver was almost twice the legal limit on BAC%, and ran off the roads to hit the cyclist. If the cyclist was in fact legal in this wreck, hit-from-behind protocols would have helped prevent this wreck. SBR would have prevented the two from ever having to share the same stretch of pavement and made the wreck impossible.

Bad news in CA as LEO treat the victims of a bike v car wreck like criminals. Cyclists Terrorized On The Wiggle, Police Side With Angry Prius Driver SFPD shows again why cops need to get out of their cars frequently and find out how the other side lives. Really, the cyclist deliberately rammed the car? Is that cop insane? BikingInLA had a link to a funny picture that I can’t find now that capsulated the whole thing, a car that had run into a thin pole with bad results and an undamaged bike parked in the crease in the front end… If only that were possible in the real world without pre-crashing the car…

A cyclist is hit in AL. Cyclist Killed on Schillinger Road About all they’ll say on this one is that the bike was in the road, I’m betting they’re still figuring out how to blame it on the cyclist.

A UK article about an American bike wreck. Driver jailed for killing Fetcham medical student says sorry I covered this a week ago but sometimes news travels slow over the Pond.

Another wreck in AZ. Phoenix cyclist killed after being hit by car Notice they mention the street was dimly lit, but not that the cyclist was or the car had defective headlights. More Bicyclist towing homemade trailer killed by motorist in Phoenix and the Street View of the wreck site 3500 W Georgia Ave Notice the terrible sight lines caused by the privacy walls Phoenix bicyclist dies after being hit by car and one more 60-year-old bicyclist killed while crossing Phoenix street

More information on the Mathieu Lefevre wreck in NYC. New Video Shows Brooklyn Cyclist Moments Before Death, May Prove NYPD Wrong Another video that proves the truck driver had faded far left but did not have his signal on prior to the cyclist pulling up on the right in a gap of about 8 feet in width from the curb.

Another link to the cyclist hit by a cop car in the Great White North. Elderly Cyclist Hit By Cruiser Still the same level of information being given as they try to figure out a way to blame the cyclist for being there to get hit…TANJ!

Infrastructure! news from CA. Initiative in Tulare County urges bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians to ‘share the road’ Why do I think that drivers will see that sign and interpret it as “Cyclists and pedestrians get out of the way”?

One of the problems with regenerative braking on e-assist bikes has been that batteries would not accept the high currents that regen can produce without dumping some of the current through resistors and wasting that energy. Now an improved supercapacitor may allow using 2 energy storage media for steady-state and accelerating/deccelerating. Graphene Supercapacitor Holds Promise for Portable Electronics The problem with available supercaps has been poor energy density preventing installing a large enough cap bank to use for all the accel/deccel cycles, especially for long downhills.

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus