OK, yesterday and today

Just checked to see where I left off yesterday, and I had just walked the 1.8 miles from Beltline to the Wal-Mart for the Hot Wheels Legacy event in the DFW area. I spent the next 90 minutes or so wandering around the outdoor car show and checking out the vendors’ booths. There was free stuff given away but you had to either be a kid or bring a kid with you, and the line was like 40 minutes long. I saw the HiPo Hauler from Gas Monkey Garage, but none of the Monkeys, if they were there. I also saw the full-scale Twin Mill from the original release in 1968, and a buttload of contestants for the next round of release, including a vehicle from the local Zombie Apocalypse group in Arlington, which was based on a Subaru station wagon and had the hood off so I could get a good look at an EJ engine in the wild. I wasn’t prepared for how tiny it was front to rear. It was as wide as I expected, but since it was NA instead of turbocharged I could clearly see the whole engine and the 430 mm (16.9″) front to the back of the block measured I saw earlier looked a bit on the generous side.

I needed to grab a drink and something to eat so I stopped at the Sonic and got a Route 44 (as in fluid ounces) diet Coke and a sausage breakfast burrito. I really needed the rest and to get off my feet, and I also needed to rehydrate since there was absolutely no shade in the car show area and I was baked dry. Then after I finished the drink I put the rest of the ice into my water bottle so I would have something cold for the trip home. I still needed more water when I got home.

Then I had today. I got a slightly delayed start and saw the bus go by as I was getting to the corner, which means I missed the bus by less than a minute, and had to wait about an hour for the next connection to the game. Fortunately I got to wait in air-conditioned spaces as the next bus was only 5 minutes later on the outbound part of the loop, then I got to sit in the station while I waited for the bus to the game. I walked 0.7 mi from the bus stop to the GM’s house, and she had the AC set on kill and my seat was right in front of the vent, so I ended up getting a cramp in my bad leg because it got too cold. But enough of my problems, let’s talk about the game.

When we left off before we had just captured the toxic shaman and rendered her unconscious for the trip back to Dallas. Our mage used frequent asses and clout spells to keep her out like a light. The mage was the hero of this session, constantly casting spells until we got to Dallas and a summon could take over the job so he could sleep. Then we had to contract with a Coyote to get us across the border to Chicago so we could collect the ¥1,000,000 bounty. Yes, in the Shadowrun universe they are in different countries, Dallas is in the CSA and Chicago is in the UCSA which is part of Canada. While we were en route to Chicago our cargo plane was attacked by a thunderbird somewhere over what used to be Missouri. I managed to get 2 shots from my arm gun at it to no effect and our other gun character sent a burst of 6 rounds at it that finished it off as it was a bit of a glass cannon, shooting magic lightning but only 4 body and zero armor made taking even one hit from flechettes or explosive rounds (my, and the other gun character’s ammo respectively) would result in an instant kill. After that we delivered our unconscious toxic shaman to the place offering the bounty with no further problems, and the ¥250,000 payment was sent to each of our accounts.

Game session over I hoofed it the 0.7 miles back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Garland Station and the last bus home, then dinner about 2030.

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No D&D today, and the Feed

I was supposed to go to a D&D game this afternoon, but once again the logistics didn’t work out and I’m stuck at home. There is a Friday the 13th Classic Monster Movie party at church tonight, I might go to that just to get out of the house. I have been trying to teach the fur kids that my legs are not to climb on with some success (after all they are just babies). I’m also playing that mobile phone game that hands out money as hard as I can. I’m almost a third of the way to my next $10 gift card, and ²/₃ of the way to my next $1 gift card (those are separate quests that are somewhat intertwined but require different things to accomplish). At this rate I shall reach my goals by Christmas.

Up first how about our Daily Ted? Morning Links: Bad news isn’t the problem, a Breeze-y day in SaMo, and bikes aren’t a priority in Beverly Hills

Aaand Daily Ted part two. BOLO ALERT: Driver of blue car fled the scene after dooring woman near Fairfax and San Vicente Thursday night

Still in CA we get Infrastructure. Safety at a crossroads The person who sent me this link pointed out the SUV using a bike lane to make an illegal left turn in the lead picture.

And more infrastructure from the same city (and newspaper). City officials grapple with who – and what – belongs on the beach bike path Here’s what I think belongs on the bike path: bicycles, tandem bicycles, e-assist bicycles, tricycles, tandem tricycles, e-assist tricycles, and velomobiles. And maybe skateboards and pedicabs. Definitely NOT Segways and hoverboards.

Over in Frisco, a bus takes out most of a block, including a cyclist. San Francisco tour bus crashes in Union Squre, multiple injuries This has to be the ultimate pinball wreck.

The legal infrastructure has been failing cyclists down in NOLA. Cyclists injured in hit-and-run accidents find minimal aid from police, state law TBH this is about what I expect from LEO in the deep south.

The AL restaurant where a cyclist bought breakfast regularly collects for her funeral. Bojangles employees raising money for funeral of customer killed while riding bicycle in Cullman

IL cyclist is killed JRA. Man Killed While Riding Bicycle in Joliet The narrative doesn’t say nor allow for deduction of the mode of the wreck. It does say there were multiple injuries that could have been the fatal injury so the plastic foam hat brigade is foiled in this one. Even if he had been wearing the perfect helmet that prevents every head injury he still would have been dead.

NYPD isn’t the only government agency blocking the bike lanes. Sleepy DOT Workers Block 2nd Ave Bike Lane To Take A Nap But you would think the guys that built the bike lanes would know better.

More infrastructure news from NYC. Plan For Amsterdam Avenue Bike Lane Met With Little Pushback From Residents Only one “I can’t stay in business without free parking in front of my store!!1!!”

Who died from motor vehicle violence in Staten Island? Heartbreaking profiles of 8 pedestrians, cyclist killed on Staten Island in 2015

Another link to the study that showed the best indicator of not getting killed is a pair of ovaries. Joint UBC, U of T study finds that women are less likely to be injured than men on their bikes No I’m not going through surgery to reduce my risk of getting hit.

Taking the lead from the insurance company lawyers the BC driver who ran into a cyclist head-on driving in the wrong lane. Driver accused in cyclist’s death denies responsibility for crash The comment section was wisely deleted from this article.

The Mounties got their man, or at least his car. Police seize vehicle in connection with Lorraine hit and run

Over in the UK they decide that a cyclist who was lighted and reflectored about 250% more than legal requirements was invisible. Cyclist, 42, died in accident on the A40 despite being warned not to ride on busy roads and Coroner: Lorry driver “would not have expected” to encounter cyclist he killed Yeah, I know.

Another cyclist hit in Enn Zed. Cyclist injured in Willis St crash Which just goes to show cyclists are more morally developed than drivers. How many times have I read comments along the line of “Given a choice of hitting a cyclist or hitting a car I’m hitting the cyclist”, and this guy picks a car over hitting a pedestrian.

And I’m out of links for the night.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

I really am a scatter-brain, and the Feed

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

It’s Tuesday again yay! and the Feed

Welcome to another day that I pump artificially by taking portions of Monday’s Feed and holding them until now. That gives me a few more links to post today and lets me finish quicker on Monday. Otherwise I wouldn’t get Monday’s post finished until about 0200 Tuesday…

First up I’m trying to get hit-and-run with injury upgraded to the same crime as it would be had a drunk driver remained at the scene, because right now in TX a drunk driver can take years off his/her sentence by claiming ignorance of the wreck and turning themselves in the next day, after all the alcohol gets processed out of their body. Hit-and-run should be as great a crime as DUI manslaughter The only thing that can get hit-and-run investigated and prosecuted is to treat it like any other assault with a deadly weapon. One step at a time…

A potential source of hit-and-run drivers for Portland, OR. Travel site says ‘driving cyclists off the road’ is rite of passage in Portland – UPDATED The article has been taken down, but Google Archive and the Wayback Machine (thank you Mr. Peabody) never forget…

Who wants to live forever? How Exercise Keeps Us Young Not live “forever” but be as healthy and physically happy (I can’t say what cycling will do for emotional happiness beyond make it easier to find) as you can be until you do die.

And getting more of these may let you do more of what was recommended in the preceding paragraph. Traffic Gardens Galore “Traffic Gardens” are park-like settings with lots of paths painted up like streets and roads so that children can practice their “road sense” in an environment where mistakes would not be fatal but easily correctable. The small size and frequent intersections keep speeds low so that any collisions are more scraped knees and elbows than broken bones.

Remember that year they recalled every car because they were killing so many people? Citing Indefinite Safety Issues – Car Companies Recall Every Vehicle Ever Made If any other mode of transportation killed like motor vehicles it would be regulated into non-existence or safety. Look at trains and airplanes, when I was a pilot I had to take a flight test every 2 years if I hadn’t gotten a new rating in the meantime. When was the last time you had to take a retest at the DMV?

Speaking of cars killing people. Is “Safe” Road Design Killing Bicyclists and Pedestrians? I think it has become quite obvious that making streets that are specifically designed to move lots of cars makes every other mode dangerous.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Aaron Paley talks CicLAvia; a visionary from the past; and a pedal-by fooding in Seattle

Given how cyclists trying to get to sidewalk bike parking are treated by the NYPD, how is this guy not dead or in a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds? Cabbie Rams Cop Cars & Drives On Midtown Sidewalk In Crazy Rush Hour Rampage Seriously, he rammed multiple cop cars and drove on the sidewalk, riding a bicycle on the sidewalk without endangering anyone gets you a ticket that looks like the interest payment on the National Debt, and so far the driver does not even have a ticket (though the TLC did suspend his hack license for 90 days).

Philly works to get drivers out of the bike lanes, how well did they do? So, How Did #UnblockBikeLanes Work Out? I think (hope?) that picture at the top is pre-campaign.

How long should I celebrate the schadenfreude on this one? Bail Set For $2.5M For Bishop Charged In Cyclist’s Death That said, there is something in the Constitution about “excessive bonds or bails” when holding someone for trial.

Hit 3 cyclists from behind and then after it comes out the lights were pulled from their bikes after the wreck to make it look like they were riding ninja file a suit about how hitting them has harmed you, now going on for 2 years. Canadian Driver Who Hit Three Bicycling Teenagers Suing Victims’ Families For Emotional Trauma How about filing suit against this driver because knowing she is still out there driving makes you traumatized, Canadian readers (I know you’re out there, I get regular hits from Canadian IP addresses)?

Another court link, this one from Oz. Driver sobs in court over death of 70yo Perth cyclist Paola Ferroni I wonder is she sobbing over the death of the cyclist, or because she may have to go to prison or jail because of it?

Another Wounded Warrior ride. Bayou-to-Brookley ‘Indy Ride’ cycling event celebrating veterans to be part of Mobile Aerofest This looks like a good ride except that it is in AL.

And I’m fresh out of links now.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet (still an unkillable badass)

>yawn<, Last morning service this summer, Wreck-free Sunday

D&D ran very late last night, and I didn’t get to bed until almost 0300 (that’s 3 AM for you civilians). Where we are in the campaign is we all have jobs now, guarding a caravan train from monsters and supernatural terrors. We managed to get through the first 3 weeks “game time” just making free money, eating, sleeping and spending 8 hours a day walking beside the caravan train. After 3 days we got to a small village and the people in the caravans set up shop to trade with the village, so we set up a skirmish zone for security so nothing could jump us and rob the caravans (or the customers). Sure enough a couple of hours after we got set up we were attacked by Shadows (non-corporeal undead) that could only be hurt by magical weapons. Since the only weapon my character uses is 100% magic I was handing out a bunch of hurt on them. This was on my side of the caravan, on the other side was some kind of bear-sized canine (not a wolf) that was very susceptible to ordinary physical attacks. Well actually there were several of them, but the part of the company on that side had to deal with them. I was able to hold station and guard my section of the caravan while using my new long-range attack that I got when I levelled up a couple of sessions ago to lay the hurt on anything in view from my station. So, I followed orders and still killed lots of bad guys and protected the caravans. Any places where I saw the NPCs getting attacked by the Shadows I would send a blast from my weapon to take out the bad guy (or hurt them bad enough that the red shirts could take care of them) I was in place in the middle of the train and had the range to hit anything on my side. My character was very popular at the beer wagon after my shift that night. The game session ran to a little before 0200 and after getting the building straightened up and the game put away, riding Blue home the 3.6 miles, logging the miles at BikeJournal.com, and getting ready for bed, I didn’t get asleep until about 0300. The just after 0900 this obnoxiously perky person tells me it’s getting late and I should be getting up…

Most UU churches take the summer off to reduce their energy bill when their attendance is lowest anyway. We are just going to drop the morning service for the rest of the summer because we get the required ritualists, plus a person or two from the congregation sometimes (when you get more people putting the service on than are there to attend the service, the people putting on the service get annoyed). We get nearly full houses for the evening services, empty or nearly empty for morning, so morning services are taking a break until the weather cools off.

I was lucky enough to get to watch lots of races this weekend, between NASCAR, ARCA, ALMS, WoO, Indycar and some sanctioning bodies I have no idea who they were… And those were just the cars, there was Olympic bike track racing too…

While I was doing this Mrs. the Poet was attending the youngest child’s baby shower, with said baby having a name finally: Alexander Riley Causseaux.

And that pretty much covers what I did this weekend, except for going to evening services tonight.

PSA, Opus