Why do we have a for-profit health care system, and the Feed

Contact has been made with my PCP concerning the GOP presidential candidate sitting on the back of my neck (“ugly lump of useless fat” for the people not among my Facebook friends). There was a 3 working day delay caused by my HMO having to approve of the surgery and the surgeon I was getting sent to. Remind me again why we don’t have a single-payer system like the UK, where stuff like this only takes a day? I mean obviously, this thing has been on the back of my neck for almost a decade now so it probably isn’t going to kill me (again), but still the MRI came back as “atypical” so this also isn’t something that can be ignored until it goes away. I will hear back from the surgeon on scheduling later today or early tomorrow.

The Bug Story today is from Oz as a Fox Sports announcer is found guilty of hitting a cyclist. Bosnich pleads guilty to reckless driving which injured cyclist and Mark Bosnich pleads guilty to charge of reckless driving after road rage incident also Bosnich knocked cyclist down: court And of course they got a plea bargain that never mentioned assault with a deadly weapon when the driver turned his vehicle at the cyclist and hit him with it, knocking him to the ground with numerous injuries.

Our Daily Ted, round 1. Morning Links: LAPD ordered to turn over video of bike rider beating, and Redlands riders do the right thing Surprise, surprise, LAPD beat a cyclist half to death and he was not white.

Our Daily Ted, part the second. Guest post: BAC Vice Chair Glenn Bailey reports on efforts to undo the Chase Street road diet and bike lanes This was the meeting that may have had an illegal agenda item added at the last minute. In TX the item would have been illegal to discuss since the agenda had already been published.

In today’s NYC news, the DA actually grew a pair and indicted a killer driver. Driver Charged With Manslaughter For Killing LES Pedestrian The driver was doing 55 in a 25 zone and attempted to flee but hit a fire hydrant on a crowded sidewalk and could not continue driving. The hydrant probably saved having several more victims.

Usually “Take your kid to work day” does not include teaching bicycle theft. Stroller-Pushing Bike Thief Has Allegedly Stolen $16K In Bikes

And a bit Upstate from The City, drunk asshole in a Camaro takes out his and two other vehicles when he’s prevented from excessively speeding. Video: Sociopathic Camaro Driver Causes Terrifying Highway Crash The Camaro driver was tested at more than twice the legal limit for BAC%.

Apparently driving while blind is not a crime in NE. Prosecutor will not charge woman in crash that killed cyclist The cyclist was riding a recumbent tricycle with an 8 foot tall flag on the back. If you can’t see a normal-sized adult human with an 8 foot tall flag in the road, please stop driving immediately and seek medical attention.

Not your average wreck in South Africa. Cyclist trampled to death by giraffe in South Africa Usually the traffic I have to wrangle is more 4-wheel than 4-foot.

More on the Scottish clamor for presumptive liability in civil cases where a cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle. Cyclists call for ‘presumption of liability’ against motorists in civil cases Yeah, we cyclists are just throwing ourselves against light armored vehicles in the hopes of getting a huge lawsuit payout… And I have a bridge in AZ I want to get off my hands. Used to be owned by a nice English lady named Elizabeth…

After the second cyclist is killed by a truck turning across the bike lane at a badly-designed intersection in NOLA legislation to restrict truck traffic is considered. Cyclist’s death spurs bill to ban hazardous material trucks on St. Claude, North Claiborne Note that there was nothing done to change the bad intersection, just to restrict hazardous cargo from using it.

More infrastructure news from Portland. East Portlanders want one mode of transportation prioritized above all others, survey finds They just want to be able to cross the street without having to play “Frogger”.

There has been a paradigm shift in city planning while nobody was looking. End of the car age: how cities are outgrowing the automobile

It’s about that time again. National Bike Month: Hupy and Abraham celebrates safety and awareness and Community encouraged to participate in Bicycle Month Notional Bike Month, or as I see it National This Blog Is Important Month. I’m hoping I can get Blue up and running and be healed up from neck surgery by the Ride of Silence. Last year was terrible for me as I couldn’t see where I was going because my helmet was hitting the lump on the back of my neck.

Speaking of that lump, the surgeon did not call today, but I at least know his last name: Ritter. And thanks to the powers of the Internet I know something about him.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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Got my toes done, and the Feed

I think most of you are aware that between the ravages of age and the damages I suffered in the wreck I can’t cut my toenails on the last two toes of my left foot. That means I have to get someone else to do it for me, and the easiest way to do that is to go to my local nail spa and get a pedicure. They have gotten used to me there and sometimes just for giggles I get the whole enchilada and let them paint my toenails. Today I left part of the figurative enchilada on the figurative plate, and came home without any polish on my toes. To give an idea of how ingrained in my psyche not spending money until there is no alternative is, my shoes fit sorta loose now…

There is a new conspiracy theory out there. Did Bono Really Crash A Bike In Central Park? The crux of the argument is CP on a Sunday is a pretty crowded place, and just about everybody in NYC has a phone with a camera on it, yet there is zilch about the wreck from witnesses on any of the social media, or even “Is this Bono?” pictures on Twitter or FB. Given the number of pictures and video posted of Michael Brown getting killed, someone who wasn’t even on the radar until after he was killed, the fact that a celebrity like Bono can get that kind of damages without any pictures of someone trying to help, or even of the ambulance taking him away seems rather odd. I just did an image search and there is nothing of Bono in Central Park in the last 6 months. The only images I could find were of the free concert U2 did in CP a while back, and the tree that killed Sonny Bono while he was skiing many years ago. To quote Alice, “Curiouser and curiouser.” I left a post in a Facebook group devoted to bicycles and bike commuting asking if anyone had any pictures or knew where any pictures of the scene were posted, so I’ll keep y’all posted if I hear anything.

The war of the lumens continues. Try these bright ideas for biking at night. I still think the best thing for making cyclists visible to drivers would be a law requiring all motor vehicles used in a wreck with a pedestrian or cyclist to be crushed and shredded in front of the driver or on national TV if the victim dies, or in other words, hit a pedestrian or cyclist, lose your car. You still have to pay for it, but it will no longer physically exist to be repossessed. That would mean that you would have to pay off the balance immediately… de facto huge fine for hitting a vulnerable road user, payable to the finance company.

More about a friend of the blog who was killed (and even though I know his name and had several conversations about bicycle safety with him I still don’t want to post his name in a link description. Don’t ask why, I can’t put it into words.) Cedar Mill bicyclist killed in crash was known for his graciousness and bike safety advocacy There would be little that could be done further to increase a cyclist’s visibility that the victim had not already done, including lights and dozens of square feet of HiViz fabric covering the bike and rider. Best comment:k7
According to same logic as posted here, the stripes on the road are too low to be effective so they need to be elevated immediately so they can be seen. More Kirke Johnson’s BikePortland comments are chilling and inspiring

Former Congresscritter and current poster child for the gun control movement Gabriel Giffords rides a recumbent trike in public. Gabby Giffords completes 11-mile bike ride That is about the same distance I rode on my first public ride after my wreck…

A FL cyclist died and fell over or the other way around, but wasn’t hit by any vehicle. Medical event killed bicyclist, not traffic crash Yes, it does happen, rarely.

AZ cyclists are trying to find an infrastructure solution to an infrastructure problem. Cyclists unite after death on Pecos Road

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: San Diego cyclists get blamed for collisions, and accused Eagleson killer enters not guilty plea

That San Diego link showed in my Feed as well. Cyclists faulted most in bike-car crashes

A rider searches for the good Samaritan who helped him after a wreck. Injured rider finally tracks down helper

A bit of common sense from Oz. Time to stop the war on the roads, says injured cyclist In the War on Cars, cars are winning by a huge body count.

A modern take on Frogger with more realistic scenarios. CrossyRoad

A little assist on your way? Electric Bikes, On A Roll In Europe, Start To Climb In U.S.

And those were all the links I could find today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet