Help a bronie, and the Feed

Most people will agree that I am by no means a bronie (Even if I do have a soft spot for Fluttershy’s Lament). However I am a person that cares about fair treatment for everybody (except maybe drunk drivers that kill). Well lately a kid in North Carolina who likes My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was bullied about that mercilessly, both physically and psychologically, to the point that he tried to hang himself to escape the pain. More details here He was not successful, but doctors say he may be permanently brain damaged because of the hypoxia. If you have any artistic talent and enough knowledge about MLP:FiM to assist I encourage you to submit something to this to help pay for the medical and legal bills resulting from this episode.

Up first was a difficult decision as there were so many “worthy” contenders, but I think the Tesla story starting to go viral is the top of the list. Tesla Motors Blamed For Cyclist Death: Did New Car Smell Cause Driver To Pass Out? [REPORT] and Driver Who Killed Cyclist Blames Crash on New Car Smell What can I say about this? Well for one thing the family of the victim is trying to aid the prosecution by getting Tesla Motors on record stating that nothing in their “new car smell” could induce a person to sleep unless they are already fighting to stay awake. They are making the defense pay for information that the prosecution will use against them, for the cost of filing a lawsuit they were going to file anyway.

A drunk driver who was nearly 4 times the legal limit for BAC% blames the trace amount of THC in the cyclists for the wreck. Trial set for accused drunk driver who hit cyclists, killing one This was a driver who hit two cyclists from behind who were riding in single file, killing the rear cyclist and crippling the front one, and tested at 0.307% BAC with the legal limit being 0.08. This is so close to the lethal amount for non-alcoholics that it isn’t even funny. This driver needs to be placed under the jail and left there until advanced decomposition has set in.

A drunk driver pleads guilty to seriously injuring a cyclist while driving drunk. Doctor pleads guilty to driving drunk, hitting cyclist OK this one survived with “serious injuries” but he could have just as easily been dead. The infrastructure needed to prevent this wreck is two-fold, physically segregated cycling infrastructure to prevent drunks from getting close enough to kill cyclists, and legal infrastructure that makes driving drunk so costly in both time and treasure to the drunk that people just don’t do it. I suggest that any wreck that leaves a victim with permanent injury or death result in the confiscation and scrapping of the weapon vehicle in addition to a permanent loss of license and also make driving with a license that has been revoked for DUI with death or injury be a major felony akin to the unlawful possession of a firearm. After all there is a 2nd Amendment that guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, but there is no corresponding right to use WMD as transportation; i.e. drive a motor vehicle.

Another SWSS in FL. Bicyclist hit, killed along St. Pete street Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate the damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

This one seriously harshes my vibe. Cyclist killed during Tour de Palm Springs ran stop sign In spite of multiple witness reports that the cyclist stopped and was waved through the intersection by a car that stopped blocking the way, and that the weapon vehicle swerved into the left turn lane to pass the stopped car without slowing down, they are blaming the cyclist on this one. More Tour de Palm Springs officials to review event after death

More from CA via BikingInLA. Near Rapid Bus road kill, and a letter from a Brit driver that questions their care for the mentally ill

Another report on hit-and-run from the Great White North. Cyclist critical after Oshawa hit and run I don’t know if this is the same wreck from a different source than yesterday’s hit-and-run report, or a different wreck, but either way there was no place for the cyclist to get away from this wreck because of the heaps of snow piled on the sides of the road. Infrastructure to prevent.

More information than usual about a UK wreck. Vigil protest as first cyclist dies in London this year and People call for safety measures after first cyclist dies in London this year The first death was at an intersection that has had repeated pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries. That says something to me about the quality of the infrastructure. Also says something about the speed limit being too high for the area.

First link from Oz is a fatal wreck report from NSW. Cyclist killed in crash at Byron Bay The narrative reads like a hit-from-behind wreck, so protocols and infrastructure…

Also from Oz. Injured teen cyclist thanks police for helping him when injured in Dandenong The back wheel malfunctioned causing a loss of control wreck. When passers-by refused to help police on patrol saw him bleeding and applied first aid.

A wreck in Enn Zed. Cyclist injured after 4WD collision Intersection wreck with a vehicle that failed to yield to oncoming traffic, so protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Last links are to pictures of my bike in final assembly after coming back from paint and powdercoat.

And those were all the links that gave me fits today. today’s post is late because I had a chiropractor’s appointment to get my back adjusted and lined up right after I lost 11 mm from my left leg in the wreck leaving my left leg 17 mm shorter than my right, causing a severe pelvic tilt. This in turn causes me tons of low back pain, and tightness. The adjustments are getting my back back in line and reducing the amount of scoliosis from the pelvic tilt. Yay me!

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Another grocery shopping day that I don’t have to play a mule, and the Feed

I’m waiting to see if there are any good links in the Feed today (that I haven’t already used) so a little commentary on life in general while I wait. Regular readers know that Blue was stolen back in August of 2013. What I haven’t been talking about is I haven’t had a bike I could ride without pain since then. All the bikes I have at my disposal are either too big or way too small (kids’ bikes). The other problem is my local source for small batches of steel tubing in bicycle diameters and wall thicknesses has ceased its retail operations and gone strictly to big batch orders that would be a 40-50 year supply for my operation and tie up thousands of dollars in metal inventory. This prevents me from building something on my own that would fit and be comfortable. Having tools and designs doesn’t help if I can’t get the materials to build them. And I find this to be incredibly frustrating, to have all these ideas floating around in my head and no way to make them real. The closest analogy I can think of is being perpetually pregnant, only without the bladder issues.

And segueing from pregnancy to the other problem I’m having is I’m gaining weight. I really need active transportation for two reasons, not the least of which is I need the exercise. There is a reason I don’t do the “e word” except for my rehab stuff, and that’s most of it is a waste of time and energy. I’m using the term “waste” in the sense of “for no purpose”, because if I’m going to be working that hard I want the work to be accomplishing something other than “exercise”. Most of the things I can think of to do already require some degree of fitness, they’re not things you do to get fit but they are activities that let you hold on to what fitness you already have. Also they require a degree of sociableness that I’m not comfortable with. Riding the bike was something I could do without having to participate in team sports, but it did require interacting with entitled idiots who think the world revolves around internal combustion engines. Also it was a “useful” form of exercise, I was moving my butt from A to B and frequently also various amounts of cargo so that things would get done. It was also my social outlet in that point B commonly involved interacting with other people. And it was cheap, after the initial costs were amortized. I could make trips similar in length to what people around here drive for the cost of a bottle of water and a PBJ sandwich which I would have needed to buy anyway just to keep alive. So basically for me the costs of riding a bike were nil.

First up, while I’m no great fan of JB I wasn’t a hater either until this. Justin Bieber Arrested For Alleged DUI And Drag Racing In Miami OK for someone like JB to get arrested for this in Miami where a minor pop singer from South America is treated like a foreign dignitary when he kills a cyclist while DUI tells me 2 things: first that he was so blitzed that he was a danger to himself and others, second that there has been a major change in LEO attitude in Dade County. I keep hearing rumors that Canada may deny him re-entry into the country if he tries to return. Bicycle related content: About 30-40% of cyclist fatalities involve weapon vehicle operators that are DUI.

Up close to WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, a cyclist gets hit by a train (again). Bicyclist injured in collision with Metro rail car C’mon people, we have hashed and re-hashed this until it’s practically meat puree, not getting hit by a train is about the simplest traffic safety thing you can do. Trains can only be found on train tracks and normally have crossing guard systems or other warning devices. Granted this is light rail in the street, but there are still multiple warning systems that are supposed to keep you off the tracks when a train is coming. Add to that the size and noise of a train, even the light rail variety, and well it takes a rare combination of multiple lacks of awareness or a total disregard for what’s going on around you, or even a personal disregard for safety. Stay away from train tracks to avoid and be very careful and alert when staying away from the tracks proves impossible.

From the former most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike (pending confirmation) another cyclist is hit. Lakeland Man Charged in Bicyclist’s Death OK this is another one that needs to have the car crushed with the driver inside. Drunk and hit the cyclist on the wrong side of the road (salmon driving) and swerved into the cyclist. This isn’t manslaughter it’s murder… and the cyclist was riding exactly where the haters say cyclists should ride, in a park.

From WA, it seems bike paths are a bad place to have high-speed motorcycle chases. Man on stolen motorcycle killed on Renton trail while fleeing Washington State Patrol trooper Those things are full of obstacles that (rarely) kill and (much too often) injure people riding bicycles. Riding on one at high speed with a motorcycle ain’t gonna work out well.

A little south of that wreck a cyclist is injured by a driver who did not hang around. Bicyclist injured in hit-and-run in San Luis Obispo Another candidate for the car crusher. The damage and location of this wreck lead me to deduce the weapon vehicle hit the cyclist as the vehicle left the parking lot to the store and as the victim proceeded straight. So that would imply intersection protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, infrastructure to prevent.

Nearby a cyclist is hit with a bus. Breaking news: Pomona cyclist killed in collision with Foothill Transit bus

Final outcome in the criminal charges against a driver that hit a cyclist waiting to turn in Jolly Olde. Widow: ‘No sentence can ever match my loss’ and Family to sue driver over death crash A year’s driving ban and a six month suspended sentence. And the driving ban will most likely not be enforced because I didn’t see anything about relinquishing the keys or the car. So effectively no punishment for killing a driver waiting to turn from the opposite lane.

A wreck in Oz results in charges against the driver. Engadine woman charged with injuring cyclist at Helensburgh Nothing on the mode because it was a hit-and-run and the cyclist could not remember what happened, but it looks like hit-from-behind so protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent. Along with crushing the weapon vehicle, of course. Nothing prevents a second hit-and-run quite as well as destroying the means of doing so.

They REALLY don’t like bike riders in Pakistan. 15 killed, Spaniard injured in attacks in Pak’s restive areas They killed 6 national police trying to get one bike rider. I don’t think the fact he was riding a bike was the issue, more that he was an infidel foreigner. I do know how to read for content.

A bit of e-assist bike news from the EU. Working Group Decides on Standardized E-bike Interfaces When I first started working with e-assist they couldn’t even settle on a common charge plug so that you could grab a few watt-hours on the road without having to pack a charger, now they have a common software interface with the BMS. That’s progress.

And “old people” who used to ride a lot still ride a lot when they get e-assist. E-Bikes Boosts Bike Usage Among Elderly Whodathunkit? People ride bikes when it doesn’t hurt.

Along the same lines people will take cruises to locales that are fun places to ride bikes and the they ride bikes. Luxury cruise and biking? Turns out it’s a surprisingly good combination for adventurous types

Last link, runners do more damage to bike trails than bikes do to hiking trails. Runners repair their damage to park’s bike trail

And those were all the links I could find about bicycles.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Out running errands on a warm bright day, and the Feed

Yep we went from a subfreezing high on Monday to a mid-60s high on Saturday. I was out running errands today wearing jeans and a t-shirt (and my hi-viz road worker’s vest) and not even the slightest bit chilly. This is what climate change has brought to us here in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, winters that you need a closet full of clothes for because what was appropriate one day is dangerously warm/cold 3 days later. We had similar temperatures as today at the beginning of last week as well. Is it any wonder I’m surrounded by people with coughs and sneezes?

Before I start, this was an exceptionally difficult Feed for me to filter on the emotional side of the equation, because of some of the final judicial outcomes recorded. Mrs. the Poet even threatened to throw me out of the house if I didn’t calm down and stop pacing up and down the hall from my office to the living room and back, grunting and sighing. I thought I was being rather restrained about things, really. There are no bodies in the house, and no structural damage to the house, nor even a broken window nor mirror…

I’m starting in SC with updates to a previous story. Cyclist fatally struck by fire truck identified and earlier reports that were too late to make yesterday’s Feed Bicyclist hit and killed by North Charleston fire truck and Cyclist hit and killed by North Charleston fire truck OK the cyclist was hit from behind. Still no word on the how and why of the cyclist getting hit from behind. When dealing with emergency vehicles moving over as far as you can is pretty much the only protocol in the book, especially when they are running “hot” with lights and siren.

One of the articles that resulted in pacing and grunting comes from CA. Probe into Santa Cruz cyclist’s death likely to take months This was the Tesla that ran head on into a cyclist riding in the bike lane on the correct side of the road.

Another article that resulted in pacing and grunting, with the frequent use of muttered profanity. Drunken driver gets prison for killing cyclist near Prosser The driver was 19 at the time of the wreck, and had a prior DUI. How in the names of all the deities of death and destruction did this guy get off with only a 2½ year sentence and not life? The cyclist was wearing an LED blinky reflective vest like I used to own and had multiple tail lights on the back of his bike, and he wasn’t even on the road! The cyclist, Jared Carr, was changing a flat tire with the back of the bike lighted up and facing traffic while stopped in the ditch. All the driver had to do to avoid this death was to stay on the road, at which he failed miserably. And people wonder why I’m so “cranky” about bicycle safety, I mean besides the fact that I ride and have been hit several times on my bike.

Back to CA for a SWCC wreck. School Board Member Involved in Injury Collision Since this was a mid-block “crossing” I can’t say for sure what happened, especially since there were no pictures of the wrecked bike. Intersection protocols if the bike was really crossing the road, or hit-from-behind if the cyclist wasn’t crossing the road.

Continuing the hopscotching across the country a driver in OH faces serious charges for killing a cyclist. Man charged in October death of cyclist appears in court This is a first for me, I believe. I do not recall ever seeing a driver charged with manslaughter for left-crossing a cyclist without a record of previous run-ins with cyclists.

Back to the other side of the country. Cyclist hit by car in Milwaukie identified, upgraded to serious condition Still no word on how many “witnesses” were not inside the weapon vehicle, nor any pictures of the wrecked bicycle. So, assuming the narrative is somewhat related to actual events, intersection protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Stating a truth in the UK. Reader’s letter: Very few people are injured by cyclists

Good people in the Jolly Olde. Torquay fall cyclist Ron Keegan, 75, wants to thank Good Samaritans Lots of good people doing the right things came together to save this man’s life.

Moving down south a long ways, we get this head on wreck in Oz. Cyclist seriously injured in car crash at Waterfall Someone was on the wrong side of the road, kinda a given in Oz, but really since this was a head on wreck one vehicle had to be on the wrong side of the road for the location. Since the article doesn’t say who was salmoning all I can say is riding with traffic if it was the cyclist, to avoid. If the driver was on the wrong side then a cyclist is up the proverbial unsanitary tributary without visible means of locomotion. Infrastructure to prevent.

More from Oz. Skimming cyclists a dangerous practice Here in the US this is a “buzz job” or a “Jerry Brown”.

Infrastructure! news in the US from Al Jazeera? The truth about bike lanes

The same thing from a different perspective, where do the kids ride? A PLACE TO RIDE

Infrastructure in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Fabiola Santiago: Gimenez absent on Rickenbacker cyclist safety

Same song with a different tune from”Down Undah”. Richie Porte joins campaign for greater protection of cyclists on public roads

Really want to ride a fat bike, but don’t want to fight those tires? Part two. Felt – Bosch Concept Fat-bike

How do you grow eyes in the back of your head? Students invent ‘Bike Radar’ to help prevent cyclists getting knocked down It needs some work, but that’s a good start.

And those were all the links that literally gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I’m doing that decapitated chicken thing again, and the Feed

How did I get so busy? Between the blog and church and trying to cut up the fallen tree bits in the back yard I barely have time to take a deep breath. I mean when did this happen? I went from writing a blog and reading web comics with long bike rides nearly every day to having to figure out a schedule and manage appointments and still get things done outside and never getting any time to ride the bike. I’m an “Old Dude”, this shit ain’t supposed to be happening to me…

Up first, I hate being right about things that are stupid. This is really stupid. This Bike Suit Makes You Look Like a Marvel Superhero Remember all those stories I mentioned the glow-in-the-dark clown costume? It’s here. >shudder<

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike another is killed in a SWCC. Orlando police officer strikes, kills bicyclist The Street View of that intersection shows no bicycle infrastructure at all and poor pedestrian infrastructure. The cyclist would have had to been crossing from the grassy median to get hit on the right side. And I wonder how many “witnesses” were not riding in that police car.

Up north a bunch from that a driver with 13 major moving violations in 3 years hits and kills a cyclist. 13-time Loser Kills 61-Year-Old Bicyclist I agree with the author of the article, how was this guy driving to be there to kill the cyclist? And also I agree with the “suspended license means never drive unless you want to go to jail”.

From NM an act of terrorism is dismissed as a “prank” because the intended victims were cyclists? Steel cable tripwire prank causes bike crash, injury Had this “prank” been set up across a road and damaged a car and injured a driver, would it still be a prank?

A cyclist is killed in Central America (that place south of Mexico). Another Knocked Down And Killed On Christmas Eve SWSS again, which the police apparently did not believe because there were a plethora of charges placed on the driver. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent.

It has been a bad weekend in Oz for cyclists, starting with this update on a wreck I covered Saturday. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run south of Adelaide, woman charged

Things get worse from that with another hit-from-behind wreck. Young cyclist dies in road crash and Cyclist killed in Tasmania road smash According to the first link the cyclist was in compliance with all applicable laws, including one that put him 18″ from the outside edge of the road IOW completely outside a driver’s vision.

An indictment of the state of infrastructure in Enn Zed. Cycling: It’s hell on two wheels The comments are made by mostly what Archie Bunker would call “meat-heads”. You know, dead from the neck up?

More infrastructure from CA. Smith: It’s taxing when we consider getting from place to place Here’s a clue, there was lots of bike infrastructure in existence at the turn of the 20th Century, it was called “streets” and everybody paid for them and everybody could use them. Asking cyclists to pay not to get killed sounds an awful lot like extortion…

I keep telling people that motor vehicles are WMDs, here’s another example of that from CA. Suspected drunk driver crashes into home, killing resident The vehicle retained enough energy after plowing through the wall of a house to cause death inside the house.

Lifestyle from down the road a bit. Wife of cyclist killed in crash speaks the night before his memorial ride

One of those I really don’t know how to classify. Inside: McLaren and its partnership with Specialized

Last link is a review of the first Clyde off the line. I’m getting the second. Customer Review: The Clyde It appears to have sufficient capacity for a large amount of groceries limited more by volume than by weight.

And finally I get done with today’s links just before I get hit with tomorrow’s.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Mrs. the Poet turns 60, and the Feed

Yes my blushing bride of more than 35 years turns 60 today. I have a small present and was thinking I should get dinner or buy a cake or something. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mrs. the Poet!

Up first we have another blind driver right here in TX running over a cyclist from behind when said cyclist had a reflective vest on, and lights (plural) on the back of the bike. Man Killed In Round Rock Car vs. Bicyclist Acci and Cyclist killed in Round Rock crash also Cyclist killed in Round Rock crash identified I’m willing to bet that lights were working before the wreck and that the driver just did not pay attention to where they are guiding a lethal projectile. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. I’m also willing to bet that there was no better route for the cyclist to take and that he only used the frontage road until he could connect to a safer street. I have lived in TX 24 years and know that when a major highway goes in connecting parallel routes go out to keep people on the highway even when there is a traffic jam. Looking at Google Maps we see that there was a parallel residential road just a few thousand feet from the wreck site that could only be reached from the frontage road where the cyclist was hit.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike comes a gruesome tale of callous indifference to human life. Pompano Beach motorist charged with striking cyclist, then driving for 2 miles with injured man on back of car The cyclist went over the weapon vehicle at impact and became lodged in the back window of the weapon vehicle, and the driver pulled behind some garbage receptacles and dumped the cyclist’s still-living body where he was found hours later. It is not yet known if the cyclist will survive, but even if he does the odds are with his injuries and the failure of the driver to secure medical assistance the cyclist will be paralyzed. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. The crime scene is a 4 lane highway in the middle of a residential area and should never have been allowed to exist in this condition. I place a large portion of the blame for this wreck on bad infrastructure that encouraged drivers to act as if they were driving the real highway a few blocks away, rather than the residential area it was. And just as I was wrapping this up I was hit by a massive barrage of links to this waste of human skin. Hit-And-Run Driver Flees 2 Miles With Cyclist Stuck On Car Before Dumping Him Behind A Trash Bin and also Police: Driver hits biker, drives with him on car also Axel Inostroza, World’s Most Evil Driver, Arrested in Pompano for Paralyzing Bicyclist, Dumping Body Well, I don’t know that he “Most Evil” but he’s surely in the top 10 Police say cyclist stuck to rear windshield of car that hit him Not done yet Hit-run victim stayed wedged on car during 2-mile drive, police say still more Driver Hit Bicyclist, Drove Home With Man on Back Window, Then Tried To Dispose of Him: Cops I think this is it Bicyclist struck, carried on suspect’s car OK this is the last link Police Arrest Alleged Hit & Run Driver Who Tried To Dispose Of Body

From MO comes a report that slightly stuns me. Man Charged With Murder in MSU Hit and Run Death Not even the driver of the weapon vehicle in the wreck and he was charged with murder in the death. LEO in this town are on the ball.

Another stunner from CO as the driver in a left cross death is going to trial after rejecting a plea bargain. Truck driver set for trial in collision that killed cyclist near Boulder Don’t forget there was a second cyclist following several feet behind the victim that escaped getting hit by inches. This was a case of another blind driver going where he couldn’t see if it was safe to go.

From Enn Zed another link to the road-raging “farmer” who repeatedly assaulted a cyclist with his vehicle before assaulting him with his fists. Road rage farmer who hit Ironman cyclist jailed

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Still cold but no longer frozen, and the Feed

It finally warmed up above freezing while I was out today, but it was still too cold to realistically wander around without gloves on. I did it anyway, but my fingers are killing me. I had to go buy a Powerball ticket and some birthday cards so that Mrs. the Poet can give away our money. Speaking of multi-state lottery things like Powerball the Megamillions jackpot is over a half-billion dollars (that’s billion with a “b”) and the jackpot is just under twice the odds against winning it. Seriously, you have a better chance of getting hit by a meteorite as you get struck by lightning and stung by a swarm of killer bees than you have to win the Megamillions jackpot. That didn’t keep me from buying a ticket, because eventually someone is going to win…

Up first on a slow news day (for people that worry about bicycle wrecks) is a wreck in SLC UT that LEO are still sitting on. Cyclist injured in collision with school bus in Salt Lake City It has been my experience that when a government vehicle like a school bus or police cruiser has a wreck with a cyclist and they don’t immediately blame the cyclist it’s because there is no way to find the cyclist at fault. But knowing that still doesn’t tell me what happened so that I can tell you how to avoid the wreck.

A wreck in the UK turns ugly in the comments section of a cycling web site. Updated: 16-year-old girl killed in Cambridge named as Beth McDermott It was coded phrases that blamed the cyclist for causing the wreck because she wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Infrastructure! news from WI. Traffic citation in death bolsters Wisconsin vulnerable user bill advocates Yep, $1311 for killing a cyclist with a large motor vehicle, and that’s one of the largest fines issued in recent memory. TANJ!

Further fuel for the fire, also from WI. Petersen to serve community service for fatally striking bicyclist Yep, hit 3 cyclists from behind and kill one and you’ll get community service instead of prison and financially crippling fines.

Lifestyle from CA. Sunnyvale: About 200 people attend service for San Jose teen killed while riding bike

And a shrine to a cyclist is desecrated by vandals county government. Ghost bike memorial removed from Sanibel Causeway

And that’s all I got today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Getting ready for Yule, and the Feed

As part of the activities leading up to Yule this year my church is making a Yule Log to work beneficial magicks for the upcoming year. Since I have access to lots of wood following the ice storm I have chosen an arm-sized (one of my arms, so we’re not talking small here) hunk of ash from the front yard. Since this was a live tree just last week I have been using the oven at a low setting to force dry the wood so it lights easily and burns well. This has the delicious side effect of making the whole house smell like a burning ash log. This week we will be decorating and charging the log with desires and energy for the coming year and then Sunday after next we will burn the log in what will start as a solemn ceremony that turns to celebration when the log is consumed. Special beers and meads have already been selected for consumption. There will also be a selection of sausages and cheeses to go with the beers and mead. This is a tradition that hearkens back to pre-Christian Europe, so we’re gonna party like it’s 99BC ;)

Up first is a sort of wreck report and sort of lifestyle article from Houston. Houston bicyclists ride to honor woman killed in hit-and-run Cyclist killed riding on a residential street with on-street parking to act as traffic calming in a hit-from-behind wreck. Since residential areas are shared space under the Dutch model and traffic calming was already in place the only changes would be a lower speed limit and stricter enforcement of traffic laws when violations endanger pedestrians and cyclists.

I couldn’t believe that this took place just a few miles west of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Updatedx4: Teen Kills 4; Judge LITERALLY Lets Him Off Because He is Rich! Drunk kid runs into a crowd of people killing 4 and gets let off because he’s too rich!

Update on a FL hit-and-run where information is being withheld from LEO. Mom of teens in fatal hit-and-run suing suspected owner of Mercedes It seems the owner of the vehicle could be charged with interfering with an investigation unless invoking the 5th amendment right against self-incrimination.

Another MI cyclist is injured in a hi-and-run. College student injured in hit-and-run accident while riding his bike to work Aaaannnnd when they got back to the scene of the crime all that was left was the back wheel of the bike, all other evidence was taken either by the driver or confederates, or by ghouls looking to steal anything of value. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Apparently Milt Olin was hit by the only LACS cruiser without a dash cam. Sheriff’s deputy strikes, kills cyclist on Mulholland Hwy. Yes, the cruiser that hit the cyclist was not equipped with a dash cam. How they managed to do that is up for questioning, but that seems to be the case.

Also in CA a driver is charged after killing a cyclist while using a hands-free device. Ashley Bell charged after hitting, killing bicyclist while using hands-free device It’s the cognitive impairment caused by the phone call, not the inability to control the car with only one hand, that causes the wrecks. At least in this case they got it right.

Update on the CT driver that left-crossed a cyclist and left him for dead. Conn. man pleads not guilty to charges in road accident that fatally injured cyclist OK this is just SOP when dealing with the courts, everybody pleads not guilty unless they are facing such a mountain of evidence they think a guilty plea will get them a lower sentence.

In the Great White North another cyclist is injured by a chemically “enhanced” driver. Bonavista cyclist injured as driver charged with impaired Nothing on the mode in this article, so Infrastructure!

Infrastructure! news from CA. Fixed-gear bikes banned on county park trails OOoohh! can I get SUVs banned because one was present in a hit and run against a cyclist?

More from CA about infrastructure. SLO Ranks 7th Most Dangerous City for Cyclists That’s a ranking for CA cities, not US overall. Greater Miami is still the worst city for cyclists in the US.

AZ isn’t left out of the infrastructure news today, either. City rolls out pedestrian, cyclist safety campaign

More infrastructure from AZ. Cyclist calls for action from Marana PD The comments section should read “Cyclist calls for PD to enforce the laws, people get upset because cyclists break imaginary laws”.

Lifestyle from the Windy City. Community Rallies For Family Of Hector Avalos, Chicago Cyclist And Former Marine Killed In Crash

Another Lifestyle article. Bicycle brings newfound freedom to injured Stockton veteran

And lifestyle from Chuck aka Charleston SC. The Second Annual Bikes Brews & BBQ WoaB endorses this event. I especially endorse the pig riding a bicycle event poster.

And those were all the bike links that gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

No RPG tonight, and the teeny tiny Feed

The slightly messy roads have the Native Texans in the RPG group quaking in their cowboy boots (that have never seen mud, much less an actual horse) so I get to spend the entire day with Mrs. the Poet. After I get done with the blog post, that is.

And just to clarify from yesterday’s blog post, the live oak did not survive the ice storm. The weight that accumulated on the leaves caused the trunk to fail sometime after I checked it the first time around noon. I noticed it when I had to get the hammer to let me throw out the garbage because the lid to the garbage can was sealed in about an inch of ice. Anyway the side of the live oak facing away from the house has been shredded away by all the ice. I’m going to donate the remains to my church for use as firewood. Better than letting it go into the local landfill.

Up first is the kind of wreck that is totally avoidable, but somehow people still keep having them. Bike rider killed in Pacoima train collision; eighth SoCal train victim this year and Man fatally struck by Metrolink train in Pacoima This is just a sobering reminder of how limited the reach of this blog really is, because I say this every time someone gets hit by a train: Trains are easy to avoid, they can only be found on train tracks, and they make a lot of noise (particularly when there is someone on the track in front of them). Also even if you’re deaf they are quite large and usually colorful and tend to stand out against a background. So to avoid getting hit by a train avoid train tracks when you can, and when you have to be on a train track for whatever reason use your eyes to not be there when the train is there.

Update on an arrest in a CT hit-and-run of a cyclist. Warrant details crash that killed cyclist The utter depravity of this driver who didn’t even stop to see what kind of damage he did is just appalling. Left cross wreck means intersection protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Infrastructure! news from the UK as they try to put a “sticking plaster” on a sucking chest wound. Cyclists could get head start at traffic lights to cut deaths “Sticking plaster” is British for Band-Aid. What’s needed for this intersection is a bicycle flyover to physically segregate cyclists from being on the outside lane from turning trucks, just like what they did for the through motor vehicle traffic.

And last link when a corporation uses a generic place name as a brand for a prestige product, being right won’t protect you from getting sued when you use the same name for a different product. War veteran forced to change bike shop’s name after threat from U.S bike giant Specialized I guess that’s the last time I buy a Specialized branded product with the swhooshy “S” logo.

And those were all the links about bicycles that gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Slippers are built but problems are found, and the Feed

Gluing socks to flip flops to make slippers works without further modifications, but making the resulting combination lifted to accommodate my short leg requires additions. To wit while the right side flexes as I walk and stays comfortably in place the left side tries to pull my foot out of the sock because it does not flex much when I walk. So I have to cobble up (shoe making pun!) a strap from the heel to the front of the ankle to keep the slipper from wandering away from my foot. Can I tell you that this is the part of making things that I love? Because it is, I love facing problems and finding solutions to those problems. To be totally honest I was slightly disappointed that the right slipper worked so well right out of the box. I mean what fun is that having the initial design working with no modifications needed? So anyway I think I will need to find some Velcro straps to glue to the left slipper to keep the heel in place, the arch and toe areas are not having any problems with the lift or the lack of flexibility in the lifted sole. And I just went to the mailbox to check if the mail had run and I need to place one strap around the back to keep the slipper from sliding off the front, and a second strap over the front of the ankle to keep from pulling away from the back of the slipper when I flex my foot and lift my heel as I stride. I will have to research where I can get these locally, I might just salvage them from the sandals I was using before their soles crumbled…

Up first is more on the cyclist killed on I35 in OK. Bicyclist struck and killed on Interstate 35 Looking at the Street View of the scene reveals a rest area between mile markers 46 and 45 which could explain where the cyclist started from, with a possible disabled vehicle as the reason why someone would be riding a bicycle on an Interstate highway. Anywho, hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, if you ever find yourself having to ride on an Interstate highway. From the street view it does not look like there is a rideable shoulder there either.

Moving to CA a cyclist is hurt in a SWCC wreck. Cyclist seriously injured in collision If the report is accurate then intersection protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, or hit-from-behind protocols if the cyclist wasn’t really “crossing”, but either way get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Still in CA but a little south is another link to the kid that got hit in Long Beach. Teen cyclist critically injured by hit-and-run driver in Long Beach Same thing as it was yesterday, limited sight lines create a condition that only by severely restricting the speed limit (20 km/hr or 10 MPH for the US) could this be made safe for people not encased in light armored vehicles.

Another cyclist is killed in the most deadliest (grammatical error on purpose to emphasize how deadly it is) state in the US to walk or ride a bike since before I started writing this blog. Deputies looking for suspect involved in fatal hit and run on 21st Avenue Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Keep the crazies away from the cyclists and this won’t happen.

Still in that most deadliest state, another notch in the steering wheel… Bicyclist killed in crash on US Hwy 301 near Florida State Fairgrounds OK slightly confusing here, the cyclist was in the right turn lane when hit while crossing the road? That sounds like there may have been some deliberate action on the part of the driver of the weapon vehicle to “not avoid” the cyclist. Anyway, intersection protocols to avoid and get the freaking infrastructure right to prevent.

Another cyclist is shot, this time outside NYC. Man Killed While Riding Bike Home… I honestly can’t say how to avoid something like this, I can’t even say for sure the cyclist was shot because he was riding a bicycle, it might have been something else entirely.

An update on a cyclist killed in OH. Lost in a tragedy, Route 101 needs a bicycle lane

Mass protest in the UK for better infrastructure. More than 1,000 cyclists stage a mass ‘die-in’ safety protest after six riders are killed in London in the space of just a month

Lifestyle in NM. Park now honors girl killed in 2012

And those were all the links about bicycles that gave me fits.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

[*Deity]! riding Dart takes a ton of time, and the Feed

I got home about 1600 tonight after leaving the house at 0815 to go to the Lab Rat Keeper and pick up meds from the pharmacy, with no dawdling except when I had to. I spent more than 90 minutes waiting for transfers, so any dawdling I felt the need to do had plenty of time to manifest… And the weather was slightly above normal today after hitting 89 on Sunday, and getting down to 28 last Thursday… If you don’t like the weather in North TX just wait a while (well about 9 months in the summer), it will change.

Up first is more on that cyclist shooting in FL. Increased police presence starts after teen shot riding bike I’m still not sure what a kid is supposed to do to prevent getting shot riding a bicycle within a block of his home.

More on the cyclist hit-from-behind in GA. Cyclist killed during fundraiser ride in coastal Georgia Still the same wreck, hit-from-behind protocols made moot because there was already something in the escape route, infrastructure to prevent.

A bit north of that in SC. Cyclist Injured in Hit-and-Run Collision in West Ashley Nothing on the mode or location.

An AZ cyclist was hit without ID. UPDATED: SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT FINDS INJURED CYCLIST’S FAMILY Hit-and-run but nothing on the mode…

Another CA cyclist is hit-and-run. Bicyclist injured by hit and run driver in Soma What you wanna bet they don’t get 22 detectives looking for the video on this one either? From the description of the vehicle probably a hit-from-behind wreck, protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent, including but not limited to actual investigation of crimes committed with motor vehicles followed by prosecution against those crimes.

A helmetless cyclist is blamed for the wreck in far West Canuckistan. Kitchener cyclist injured in collision with car Intersection wreck, protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Another helmetless cyclist is blamed for getting hit by a bus that cut him off and crushed him… Cyclist killed by bus “not wearing a helmet”, says Met police. Huh? How wearing a helmet is supposed to prevent getting hit by a bus, or make massive blunt-force trauma to the torso survivable I have less than no idea. This is part of a string of 6 dead cyclists, the majority killed by buses or semis, in just 2 weeks in London. Sixth cyclist in just two weeks killed on London’s roads after collision with lorry

Reason number 256 that NYPD can’t issue speeding tickets, too busy arresting cyclists for loud radios. Video: Cyclist Arrested For Biking Too Loudly

Last link, what do you say to an agency that has always placed the onus on cyclists to not get hit by cars? Turning the tables on traffic safety responsibility You make a parody of their web site. T R I M O R E is a parody of this site which in many forms has vexed PDX cyclists for years as it places all the blame for cyclists getting hit on the cyclists and never on the blind drivers that run cyclists down and claim cyclist invisibility.

And those were all the bicycle links that gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus