I left a ton of stuff out of yesterday’s post, specifically stuff about that lump on the back of my neck. Since I can’t recall exactly what I said and did not say (and I’m too lazy to open another tab and read it, I know that’s bad and I’m lazy) I’ll just go through the list. First of all this lump has been there for many years, at least 5 if not longer. Second there was some imaging done when I first noticed it by the Lab Rat Keeper to make sure it wasn’t something that was going to kill me (it isn’t going to kill me, it’s just really annoying now). Third the person checking me out yesterday was concerned that it has grown over the vertebrae on my neck and around the side of my neck and is concerned it may have become invasive. Fourth, it isn’t a sebaceous cyst because those are painful when poked they way I got poked during the exam yesterday, and not as firm as the lump on the back of my neck. So the thing they are really concerned about is that it might be invasive somehow and removing it might be a problem, and that it pretty much has to be removed sooner rather than later. The MRI is to determine how invasive it is and to positively identify what it is so that it can be removed without surprises when the operation gets done.
And with all that walking my feet hurt pretty bad when I got up this morning. 😛
Up first because The Onion is not the strangest source I have today. ‘What If No One Travels Anywhere Ever Again?’ Wonders Panicked Transportation Secretary Yep, nothing like a little existential angst to get the blood pumping in the morning.
Down the road from the Beautiful suburbs of Hell. I Can’t Even Why some people think we “need” a toll road through the middle of what was sold to the public as a park when the bonds were passed nearly 20 years ago now. No park, just a highway where there were pictures of people sailing little boats in tiny lakes in the brochures promoting the bond issue. Lakes that were never in the “official” bond proposal.
This note is TX-specific. Action Alert: Ask your representative to vote YES on HB 80 Since texting is a 21st Century blight upon humanity (and no I’m not just being old, I text when appropriate) it is only fair that TX should get in the 21st Century and ban it while driving.
Another TX specific paragraph on infrastructure. Texas House Takes Center Stage I like this one, because putting a designated portion of the general fund into transportation means we can demand a designated portion be put to non-motorized transportation. I suggest that $3 Billion be apportioned by fatalities for improving the safety for cyclists and pedestrians. I don’t meant that 16% of that $3 Billion should be put aside for cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure, I’m saying that 16% of the transportation budget up to that $3 Billion should be set aside for cyclists and pedestrians since this is a non-car source of funding.
And even in Houston they see the benefits of greater density in development. Houston Feels Downtown’s Lively Enough to Stop Development Tax Break The tax break had an initial cutoff of 2500 housing units that was quickly extended to 5000 when it was discovered that there was enough demand to support them, which is also about to get topped out years ahead of projected dates.
An experiment that worked out so well they wanted to make it permanent. Banning Cars Can Be Good For Business Whodathunkit? Giving more space to people instead of cars is good for business.
Our Daily Ted is really good today. (Late) Morning Links: Griffith Park road under attack, more on Sunday’s CicLAvia, and stupid Scot cop tricks
Would you like a secure lightweight lock for your crabon wunderFahrrad? LITELOK®: Lightweight, flexible and super secure bike lock. The mix of fibers in the braid that replaces cables and chains requires different cutting methods to separate, making one mode take way too long to get through and leading to thieves getting caught red-handed.
MPLS is getting serious about connected bicycle infrastructure. Minneapolis protected bike lane list for 2015 swells
What do you do when the air becomes dangerous to breathe? Ban cars for a day. Half of Paris just took a mandatory day off of driving OK ban half of cars, with the option to ban the other half the next day if needed.
Someone does not understand the concept of woonerf. 6 Places Where Cars, Bikes, and Pedestrians All Share the Road As Equals Woonerf are places where the motor vehicle is tolerated as something that has to be there but people would prefer not to be there, or basically a rowdy guest that has to be on its best behavior or get tossed out.
An e-assist bike for military use, when sometimes it is critical to be able to move faster than 20 MPH. Trefecta DRT: The $25K high-tech, military-grade electric super bike
And I’m all out of links again. I’ma have a little lie-down for my leg now.
Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet
Recovering from the first dose of allergy medicine for the year, and the Feed
I’m now on my third dose of allergy meds for the year, but that first one always knocks me on my butt for some reason. Usually I’m smart enough to just sleep it off and continue with my life after I have adjusted to the stuff, but yesterday I persisted in trying to write a blog post while semi-stoned on medication. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then many people say that about a lot of things that turn out to be really bad ideas. I feel much better today.
Up first is a confusing hit-from-behind wreck in the Rio Grande Valley. Truck hits, kills bicyclist north of Edinburg If I’m reading the narrative right, the cyclist wasn’t actually on the road but possibly on the shoulder or riding in the dirt beside the road, and the truck in question went off the road first then hit the cyclist and then a tree. In case you were wondering the Interstate has parallel access roads where the cyclist could ride legally that are pretty much the only through route north and south in the area which have to be used to access a legal crossing for anyone trying to go east or west from one side of the Interstate to the other. If the truck was on the Interstate and hit the cyclist on the frontage road the driver was seriously out of control of either the truck or himself.
A little closer and a lot less deadly is this wreck in Houston. Houston bicyclist seeks driver who fled after striking him Since the cyclist’s lighting or lack of was not mentioned in the article we have to assume the cyclist had at least a rear reflector, and most likely a good light, so that part of the protocols has been met. Not known if the driver was going slow enough to execute the “dive to the ditch” portion of the protocols, but getting the infrastructure right would definitely prevent a wreck like this.
Next up is a supposedly stop-sign running cyclist in Shreveport. Shreveport cyclist seriously injured when hit by car Looking at the Street View of the site this is a two-way stop with extremely limited sight lines but only a 25 MPH speed limit. Even so this is an area that would require extreme vigilance on the part of the cyclist to stay safe. Intersection protocols to the max here, and get the infrastructure right to prevent wrecks like this.
Update on that weird wreck in OR. Critically injured Portland cyclist expected to survive I don’t know how this one happened yet. The only picture I have access to does not show the damages visible in the only picture I have access to are completely at odds with the written description of the wreck.
A UK cyclist dodges a very big bullet. Cyclist speaks of moment he was hit by rolls of paper as lorry overturned on Chester Road Not anywhere close to a typical wreck, avoiding this one was a matter of pure luck.
The Big Story is a cyclist hit by a truck in Oz. Cyclist dies in truck collision also Man charged over double fatal Vic crash and even Cyclist killed in crash with truck Hit from behind but “Why?” is still not known with the driver of the weapon vehicle hanging around to talk with LEO. Infrastructure to prevent, that much is sure.
Anther wreck in Enn Zed. Cyclist knocked from bike Not much information forthcoming from LEO on this one. It looks like it might be a hit-from-behind or buzz job. The cyclist was reported to have been part of a group ride which makes anything resembling a SMIDSY (the UK, Oz and Enn Zed version of the blind driver) extremely unlikely.
Our first Infrastructure! link comes from Houston. Bicycle safety Houston has said that they want zero cyclists killed per year. That is an ambitious goal for a town that kills an average of 4 cyclists a year, with 3 of those being completely compliant with the law at the time of their deaths. That leaves 2 ways of reaching that goal, draconian driver enforcement, or Dutch-style infrastructure that completely removes cyclists from conflict points.
Even a scarlet state like OK can see the benefits of normalizing cycling as a mode of transportation. Cycling on the rise in downtown OKC; provides economic, traffic benefits And they still miss mentioning the health benefits.
Two links about dangerous infrastructure in the UK leading to a semi passing a cyclist at less than arm’s length. VIDEO: Cyclist posts HGV close-pass helmet cam footage to show driver ‘he could have been killed’ and Cyclist’s fury at HGV driver
This is as much crap drivers as it is bad infrastructure. VIDEO: Terrifying near misses for cyclist at Deptford ‘nightmare’ junction A near-constant stream of turning drivers repeatedly cut off the cyclists in the videos. The real “infrastructure” needed here is LEO capable of issuing tickets for failure to yield, or assault with a deadly weapon.
Still in the UK dealing with potentially deadly infrastructure we get this article full of possible triggers of anxiety. Injured cyclist calls for pothole repairs after serious accident That’s one seriously messed-up dude.
Ted was busy today with two links to show for it. Bypassing busy traffic on 7th Street, notes from the LAPD bike task force, and Beverly Hills bike lanes redux and A little light Morning Linkage for your Cesar Chavez Day
And those were all the links that gave me fits and giggles.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
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Tagged anti-bike blatherings, blind driver syndrome, blind drivers, cycling life, cyclist injured, cyclist killed, Dead cyclists, Don't read the comments, Enn Zed, good news, hit from behind, hit-and-run, Houston, infrastructure, Jolly Olde, Left cross/right hook, Oz, signs of the apocolypse, Single Witness Suicidal Swerve/Single Witness Crossing Cyclist, smart LEO, smart politicians, Something smells, stupid cyclist, stupid drivers, stupid LEO, stupid politicians, updates