Still batching it, and the Feed

I’m still alive and feeding myself (and using up some leftovers). I’m building the other engines I got from VCG Resins (the LS7 and the Ford Coyote) so that I don’t spend much time thinking about not being with Mrs. the Poet and doing my own cooking. Something I noticed is the LS7 engine is almost identical to the SBC, while the Coyote is slightly shorter but much wider than the SBC. I can foresee much wailing and gnashing of teeth trying to get that in the same chassis and especially under the same hood as the SBC. I mean the hood barely fits over the SBC when everything is above the bottom of the lower frame rail and the body sits on top of that 1.5″ square lower frame rail. And I just measured the thickness of the transmission pan and the thickness of the temp floor in the bucket and if I use the temp adhesive to glue the transmission to the inside of the floor without the pan it raises the engine to exactly the height it would be if the bottom of the body was sitting on top of a scale 1.5″ square rod. This makes mocking up much easier, and I will be able to take a picture showing almost exactly what I would see from the driver’s seat of the 1:1 Sprint-T.

Up first is Our Daily Ted for no particular reason (except I want to avoid the Big Story for a few more minutes). Morning Links: LACBC & SaMo Spoke up for national honors, CHP looks for driver in East LA bike hit-and-run

Still in CA. 2 Suspects Sought in Shooting Death of Man Riding Bicycle in San Bernardino Talk about stupid, if they had run the guy over and stayed at the scene and cried a bit how they never saw the guy until they hit him, there would have been no big deal over the dead guy and LEO probably wouldn’t have even put any points on the driver’s license. But because they shot the cyclist now there is a big manhunt going on and probably both are going to get charged with murder and conspiracy to commit.

OK, now that Big Story, more on the drunk driver that hit a group of 10 cyclists waiting in a bike lane for a red light in AZ. 2 bicyclists killed, 2 injured on Tucson’s NW side and Santa Fe bicyclist killed in Arizona; truck driver arrested also 2 bike riders dead as pickup hits New Mexico group in Tucson this too Santa Fe cyclists among those killed, injured by impaired driver in Arizona Again, there were 10 bikes in the group, 4 cyclists were injured enough to not be able to walk from the wreck site, one was pronounced dead at the scene, one died after reaching the hospital, one remains in critical condition, and one may already be out by the time I hit the “publish” button on the composing page. There was some speculation that the driver may have been distracted in addition to being drunk, which would make his loss of driving skills drunk². Actually I don’t know that is true, I’m extrapolating from the MythBusters episode where they compared driving with a cell phone (hand-held and hands-free) to driving with a BAC of 0.08% and found cell phone driving to be slightly worse than drunk driving, so combining the two would be either 2drunk or drunk². It all depends on if it is a linear or exponential relationship. And I just went full nerd on you, sorry.

It took FL LEO long enough to charge this guy. Driver charged in death of Weston bicyclist I mean he only killed the guy back in July, the victim died at the scene so they were not waiting on tox screens or anything.

Bad news about infrastructure from OR. Negligent driving bill won’t pass this session This comment encapsulates things perfectly.
“Anne Hawley March 3, 2016 at 1:57 pm
“In their mind,” Rhoades continued, “this bill just criminalizes distracted driving.”
That was the whole damn point.”

More infrastructure news from America’s Copenhagen. Mayoral candidates make cycling part of green policies at environmental debate Everybody put bicycles as a major component of their environmental policies.

And what will be good news to some in the Power Assist Yahoo Group, and bad news to other members. Shop Visit: Pedego Electric Bikes now open in downtown Portland The guy that owns the Pedego company used to be quite active on Power Assist, but not so much any more, maybe because his little empire is expanding.

A distinctly NYC hazard. SUV Driver Shot In The Head, Crashes Into Utility Pole In Astoria Don’t know that any cyclists were involved, it might have been an Uber or Lyft that someone attempted to hijack and everything went to crap.

How do you hit-and-run a building? Knucklehead Cops Allegedly Fled After One Plowed A Car Into A Hair Salon Oh, you get shitfaced celebrating your cop promotion.

An important part of WI infrastructure. Teaching Safe Bicycling Couse Misspelled word is a cut-and-paste from the headline, I know where to put the “r” in “course”. It does slightly worry me that such a major typo got through.

Ranking cities by bicycle safety and Dallas doesn’t even crack the top 20. D.C., Boston Tie for Cycling, Pedestrian Commuting Rates and Safety But, a city I used to live in when LBJ was president did well in the medium city category.

Want to know how much walking and cycling really mean to your city? Snow and the Walkable, Bikeable, Accessible City Look what happens when it snows.

Scary video from Jolly Olde. Glasgow cyclist shows why you shouldn’t always ride in a bike lane Yep another door-zone bike lane.

Another link to the man convicted of careless driving for killing a cyclist while driving drunk. Seven years behind bars for West Molesey man who killed a cyclist Once again I say this was a case of serious under-charging when they called driving drunk “careless”. Seriously, drinking and driving is a deliberate act, not “careless”.

This is one thing about UK jurisprudence I really like. Cyclist won payout from TfL after hitting gaping manhole on cycle superhighway ‘that hadn’t been fixed’ Here in TX government has “Sovereign Immunity” from being sued over sub-par infrastructure even when it was deliberately done that way.

More infrastructure news from Jolly Olde. Commuters want better cycling infrastructure – even if it creates delays I guess people weighed 5 minutes from their day against permanent injury or death for someone else, and decided their 5 minutes were not worth someone else’s life.

Last link looks at the connection between bicycles and early feminism. First The Bicycle, Next The Vote: The Story Of Bicycles And Feminism

Now it’s time to put this to bed in time for Gigi to review it.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Any time travellers out there want to give me winning lottery numbers that haven’t been drawn yet? and the Feed

I’m not in dire straights (and I don’t know Marc Knopfler so I’m not in Dire Straights either) I’m just in a situation that having a large supply of money available would make the situation “go away”. And by “large supply” I mean several thousand dollars of disposable income. I understand the concept of “disposable income” in theory, but my experience of it in practice is sorely lacking. This situation is NBT, first world problems to be honest, but the problems would all vanish with having enough money.

Also, wishing everyone a happy Indigenous Peoples Day. When I was young and ignorant I used to celebrate this as the anniversary of the day Columbus discovered America, before I found out that Leif Ericson discovered it 500 years earlier, and before someone pointed out that if there are people already living there that means someone else discovered it many many winters earlier. Now I don’t do that. Columbus was the point man for the invasion, not the guy who discovered the New World.

Up first is a report from Oz, because they had the story with the most links. Cyclist killed in collision with car at Springton, in the Adelaide Hills and Cyclist killed in collision with car at South Australia intersection also Toddler, cyclist and motorcyclist killed in separate SA accidents this too Cycling collision at Springton kills vibrant grandfather Michael Tully The wreck narrative and the damage to the bike look like a right cross (Ozzy version of our left cross because they drive on the “wrong” side of the roads).

Major wreck in NYC that nobody knows how it happened. Citibike rider seriously injured after fall from Queensboro Bridge and from Gothamist Man Seriously Injured After Falling From Queensboro Bridge Bike Path One of the things I love about Gothamist is that is the media outlet where witnesses love to report on wrecks. “It’s worth mentioning every story seems to think he fell from a path, which is only on the outer lane of the lower level. But, he was in fact on the upper.” So the guy was riding in heavy, but very slow traffic on the upper level and somehow ended up on the lower level sans Citibike, with the bike resting undamaged against the rail on the upper level. ?!? A previous wreck injured a motorcyclist who fell from the upper level so maybe there is a railing problem where people can fall off a bike or motorcycle and leave the bike on the rail as they fall over the rail? This is just a SWAG on my part at this point.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Unannounced Orange Line bike path closure, Go Human in the wild, and still more legal cases

Still in CA a disgusting display of lawyers taking care of other lawyers as a judge reduces felony charges that come with years of minimum sentences to misdemeanors. San Ramon attorney’s conviction over killing of Chinese tourist reduced to misdemeanor “Everything has gone so much in favor of the defendant, it seems like some shenanigans are going on.” Really.

As if that wasn’t bad enough for Bay Area cyclists. Separate Bicycle Collisions Leave One Dead, One Injured The fatal wreck was covered by several video recorders including the weapon vehicle, the other all they say was it was at an intersection, so maybe a hook or cross wreck?

Meanwhile the non-lawyer driver is going on trial for murder. Huntington Beach man charged in hit-run death of cyclist to stand trial Granted, he deserves to go on trial for murder as he was indisputably drunk high on heroin at the time of the wreck.

Still in CA, another cyclist hit by a train. Cyclist Killed By Union Pacific Train While Crossing Tracks In Richmond I have posted many times how to not get hit by a train, I think I even made a separate page about that about the same time as I did the protocols on how to avoid getting hit by cars. But somehow people still get hit by trains while riding bikes.

Over in NC the Ghost Bike for a cyclist killed in a pinball wreck was wiped out by another pinball wreck. Memorial for dead cyclist damaged in yet another crash Something has to be done about idiots on the road. But looking at the intersection in the video, and the median between the two directions of travel on the street, something has to change on the street. If you can’t get to your destination without making a U-turn then intersections have to be wide enough to make U-turns, or the medians need more cut-throughs so that U-turns are not required to reach a destination on the other side of the street.

Hit-and-run in KS. Hutch man injured after car hits his bike and leaves This was a really low-information report.

ALWAYS take the ambulance to get checked out when hit by with a vehicle. 15-year-old boy injured after car hits him on bike at Kwik Shop When something hurts you need to get it checked out so you can file for recovery. If you don’t get checked out and something is wrong the driver’s lawyers are going to claim you did something after the wreck that caused the injury, not the wreck.

Over in CO another hit-and-run wreck. Police looking for hit and run suspect who injured 76-year-old cyclist Right hook of a highly conspicuous cyclist at an intersection signed to warn drivers cyclists have the right of way over turning vehicles, and then the driver left the scene… More Cyclist injured in hit-and-run recovering after surgery

For all those who say MI doesn’t absolutely cater to drivers and give lip service for cyclist and pedestrian safety I present this article. Police: Warrant issued for driver who hit, killed bicyclist I read the headline and said “Warrant, that means arrest and maybe a night in jail for killing a cyclist.” “Michigan Legislatures changed the law from neglect homicide which was a two year Circuit Court misdemeanor to moving violation, causing death which is a one year misdemeanor.” One. Year. Maximum sentence. For killing. And not even a year in prison, a year in jail. TANJ!

Infrastructure problems in VA. Intersection where VT cyclist was killed highlighted as ‘problem area’ near campus Cyclist on the left (of the picture, right in the lane) is way too close to the parked cars, right in the most dangerous part of the door zone where he could get hit by a driver throwing a door open without looking. The cyclist in the middle of the lane is just barely outside the door zone but still might clip a suddenly thrown open on a vehicle parked too far from the curb, like the two red vehicles in the picture.

Another hit-and-run, this time in LA. Update: Baton Rouge police identify bicyclist struck, killed Sunday while riding on Plank Road; pickup truck driver accused of DWI No license and DWI, we have a winnah! All he needs for the Trifecta is a social media profile riddled with comments about cyclists “not belonging” on “his” roads.

I wonder if they got the expected turnout? Organizers expect 1,300 cyclists to turn out Saturday for bike ride around New Orleans

WI is still struggling with how to deal with vehicles without motors on the roads. Bicycling advocates renew push for ‘vulnerable user’ law And the comments section shows just how bad they need this law.

And IA isn’t much better. Update: Police Say Driver Not Cited In Sioux Falls Car vs. Bicycle Accident Cyclist was hit riding salmon on the sidewalk while the driver was making a right turn out of a driveway. This is why I keep saying sidewalks are not bicycle infrastructure.

Infrastructure in Portland OR. In their own words, here’s what Portlanders are saying about Clinton traffic diverters Personally I prefer mid-block diverters with parking spots removed next to the diverter so that U-turns for idiots trying to cut through can be made w/out too much trouble. That way they make the street a cul-de-sac for cars while retaining the grid access for pedestrians and cyclists.

Some good infrastructure news from Salt Lake City. How Bike Lanes Helped Salt Lake City Businesses Bike lanes and traffic calming have been proven over and over to boost adjacent retail, in spite of removing parking.

They are still trying to figure out what happened in this wreck in the Great White North. Family pleads for more witnesses after young cyclist killed in crash Cyclist was hit broadside in an intersection, LEO are evidently having problems assigning right of way for the wreck.

And the endless helmet debate continues. Should bike helmets be compulsory? Lessons from Seattle and Amsterdam And per usual, nothing will be settled.

Last link. 5 Things You Need to Do After a Bike Crash I did the “don’t get up” check when I got hit, but all I could feel was the broken hip not working. YMMV.

And that’s all I got today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet