I cooked dinner tonight, and the Feed

Well most of it anyway. We splurged and bought ³/₄ of a pound of chicken livers because I haven’t had chicken livers in years. Part of the reasons for that is Mrs. the Poet refuses to go through the mess and bother of cooking them, primarily because she can barely eat them. I wrapped about half a pound of bacon around the livers and fried them up, a preparation method that leaves the livers so that I love them, and Mrs. the Poet will at least have a couple of ounces total uncooked weight so she gets some protein in her meal. Anyway that takes a while to cut the bacon strips in half, wrap them around the livers, and fry them up. So I ended up losing about an hour from the filtering process preparing the blog post, but as this was Friday and I have to wait until after midnight to finish filtering I could afford to take the time out for cooking. And they were goooooood…

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bike beats car in race to beach, Calbike wants your take on bike politics, and BMX legend dies

Still in CA. Bicyclist Suffers Major Injuries in Head-On Crash Near Jalama A person claiming to be the driver in the comment section said she was to the right of the centerline and the cyclist was on the wrong side of the road.

And speaking of that BMX legend, here’s a link off of my Twitter feed. Dave Mirra, BMX Legend, Dead At 41

Down in Houston a 3YO cyclist is run over by a driver that did not know he was there when the SUV started moving. Former UGA star Danny Ware fighting for body of son killed in Texas Again this is more of an issue with the blind spots of the SUV around kids.

In WI a kid-authored bill would make cycling the official state exercise. Kids Advocate for Biking to be State Exercise With two bike manufacturers in-state (Trek and Volae), this is really a no-brainer choice to make.

A bill presented to the FL legislature would strengthen the state 3-foot passing law and extend it to other road users. SPEAK UP FOR SAFETY OF PEOPLE ON BICYCLES, PEOPLE ON FOOT One of the major changes proposed is to put teeth in the law when a driver hits a cyclist from behind (or a pedestrian or any of the other classes of “vulnerable users”) substantial fines are levied against the driver.

More infrastructure news from FL. Recent accidents raises concerns for local cyclists It’s worth noting that of the recent wrecks listed none were the cyclist’s fault and would have resulted in the enhanced penalties in the proposed bill mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Update on an injured CO cyclist. Fort Collins cyclist hit by car remains hospitalized I do wish they would stop saying drivers don’t get hurt when they hit cyclists with their cars.

Death-defying report from NY. Police log: Dogs chase man on bike

Another link to the saga of the unlicensed driver in an HGV running over a cyclist wearing HiViz and blinky lights waiting at a red light. Lorry driver who killed cyclist jail appeal rejected Did he seriously expect to get a reduction in his sentence after having multiple driving convictions and driving without a license or insurance when he killed the cyclist? He’s lucky they didn’t find a way to increase the sentence.

Infrastructure-related wreck in Oz. Cyclist falls on deteriorating Bellarine Rail Trail amid calls for repairs It seems they can’t decide if the cyclist wrecked because the surface was bad, or because the surface collapsed underneath her.

New gadgets for the tool geeks out there. The 6 coolest accessories we’ve spotted this week That suction-cup bike carrier looks interesting.

And I think I don’t have any more links (checks) Nope, no more links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Yesterday was a busy day, and the Feed

Yesterday was another day spent mostly away from Casa de El Poeta, being a volunteer for the HRC and mostly riding DART. I had to miss morning services because it took all morning to get from home to the bowling alley where HRC was holding their fund-raiser (Carnibowl), specifically that part of the morning when morning services were held. I got done early enough to make it to evening services at church, and then home to catch up on my e-mails. I finally got caught up on those about 0145, so I decided to just bag it and head to bed.

This morning was interesting mostly because we got checks for a class settlement for getting ripped off by Wells Fargo when we had our mortgage through them, to the tune of nearly $800 total for the six years involved in the settlement.

Up first is part 1 of Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Improving bike safety on Bouquet Canyon, less liability on bike paths, and doping gets mechanical

Part 2 of Our Daily Ted. Bike rider killed in South LA collision last week

And Part 3. And the winner is… I deliberately did not submit an entry for this because I have bikes I could ride with a little work and I thought that someone else should hav a crack at it that doesn’t have a bike. Ted agreed with me as you can read in his post.

Still in CA. Cyclist killed in latest hit-and-run Another article that is more concerned about the clothes the cyclist was wearing than the fact the driver left the scene with an injured person on the road.

Guess what happened in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bicycle? Bicyclist killed in Sarasota hit-and-run identified Hit from behind and hit-and-run, all it takes to make it a trifecta of Stoopid would be an impaired driver without a license.

Still in FL. Cyclist, 16, dies in hospital one week after wreck in Royal Palm Another wreck that blames a cyclist for not being in a crosswalk.

Cyclist down in CO. 53-year-old Ft. Collins cyclist injured in crash

Update on a cyclist down in NM. Bike ride organized to support injured teen

Over one state in AZ, another hit-and-run. Boy on bicycle injured by hit-and-run driver Another article erroneously suggesting that cyclists belong in a crosswalk.

More on that OH cyclist killed by an impaired driver. Cyclist dies after hit-and-run; driver to be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, police say “The driver, Melinda Woodall, 34, of Amelia, tried to hide three bottles of pills in her bra after hitting 42-year-old Michael Prater of Cincinnati on Kellogg Avenue.” There was also drug paraphenalia inside the car.

This NY wreck looks like another serious case of windshield bias. Investigation nears end, driver to be ticketed in Hammond cyclist’s death Hit-from-behind and the driver will get… TWO tickets (not just one). TANJ!

VT infrastructure news. COUNCIL APPROVES CONTROVERSIAL BALLOT QUESTION ON BURLINGTON TRAFFIC CHANGE I want to know who put giving all the streets and roads over to cars up for a vote?

Another wounded veterans ride. Ride 2 Recovery helping local veterans cope with injuries and PTSD

A confessed candidate for life in prison over in Jolly Olde. Drink-driver admits causing the death of a cyclist in Walton crash I think I have made my opinions of drunk drivers known over the last 7 or so years I have been doing the blog here on WordPress. The thought of this waste of skin actually getting back out on the roads again just makes my skin crawl.

Also in Jolly Olde. Floral tributes at Great North Road in Newcastle after cyclist dies in hospital Sounds like a great guy taken too soon.

Even the best place in the world can be made better. Even Copenhagen Makes Mistakes

Over in Oz, another driver gets a serious case of the Stoopids when he sees a pack of cyclists on the road. Cyclist’s on-bike camera shows road rage incident in Glen Forrest If I wasn’t positive the guy that tried to kill me was dead and buried…

Still in Oz… Cars are ‘lethal weapons’: killed cyclist’s partner voices her anger and grief Anybody remember that Mythbusters episode where they compared driving while talking on a cell phone to drunk driving, with drunk driving coming out slightly better?

A wreck in Enn Zed. Cyclist avoids serious injury in riverside crash Hit from behind wreck that turned out not-too-bad considering. His ‘bent is now really bent, but a wrecked bike is better than a wrecked life.

And I’m outta links, time to proof and tag and get this thing published.

Billed @$0.02, Opus the Poet

Still just plugging along and nothing much happening, and the Feed

I’m still prowling the web for raw stock to build the Mini Sprint-T after failing to find local sources for single-project size lots of sheet, rod/tube, and strip polystyrene. None of the local hobby stores carry anything in plastic raw stock, and the local plastics distributors won’t sell anything resembling hobby lots of supplies. Deja vu all over again, this was the same thing that happened a few years ago when I was buying raw stock for making custom bicycles that I couldn’t get by cannibalizing bikes left on the side of the street.

Up first, NYPD decides hit-and-run is legal. Cyclist killed in Brooklyn hit-and-run and Brooklyn Cyclist Killed By Hit-And-Run Rental Truck Driver also NYPD: Still Defending Hit-and-Run Drivers to the Press [Updated] Why is it that when a crime is committed with a car NYPD falls all over itself to absolve the driver of criminal charges? This wreck was a hit-from-behind wreck after the cyclist crossed the intersection with no escape route. the way to the left was blocked by the truck, the way to the right was blocked by a high curb.

Still in NYC is this counting of accumulated death and injury for last month. DOT: 1,445 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 16 Killed in December [Updated] Vision Zero only works when LEO is signed on to enforce laws, but as we saw in the previous paragraph NYPD actively works to not enforce traffic laws that protect vulnerable users.

Our Daily Ted part one. Morning Links: Possible murder on Irvine bike path; public meeting tonight to discuss traffic in Griffith Park

That murder Ted was talking about. Police: Irvine man’s death on bike path is investigated as a homicide

Daily Ted part two. 69-year old bike rider killed in Calexico; first bicycling fatality in Imperial County since 2012

Still in CA. Caltrans seeks 5,000 volunteer motorists for mileage fee pilot program The proposed program will extract user fees from vehicles proportional to the damages done by the vehicle without depending on a gas tax since electric vehicles don’t use gas.

Also still in CA, red light running cyclists are a menace, drivers doing the same thing… [Update] State Senator Seeks To Reduce Fine For Red-Light Violation So the year after raising the red light fine on cyclists they reduce it for drivers who actually killed dozens of people in CA from failing to stop before making a right on red. RIiiiGHT

Seeing the MO flag on a 15 foot pole bill as the victim blaming it really is. WHY THE MISSOURI BICYCLE FLAG BILL IS NOT AS FUNNY AS YOU THINK

Up in the Great White North. Quebec coroner issues 3 recommendations after 2014 cyclist death

From Jolly Olde what appears to be a punishment pass. Maidstone cyclist captures near miss in Dean Street

Still in Jolly Olde, today’s our day for murder/attempted murder on the roads. Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after woman found injured in the road Don’t you just hate when the news outlet feels compelled to tell people that the person inside the light armored vehicle used to seriously injure someone was unharmed during the commission of the mayhem?

And burying the Big Story way down in the post, deliberate assault in Oz. Female cyclist injured in road rage attack on Beach Rd, Beaumaris and Coke bottles thrown at cyclists in shocking Beach Road attack also Woman hospitalised after shocking road rage incident Chuck a full bottle of cola soft drink at someone’s head should be classified as an assault, if not a terroristic act.

Are you worried that you are not as green as you could be on your bike? Is there such a thing as eco-friendly bike lube? As pointed out in the article, riding a bike is already seriously green even using the “worst” bike lubes, there is only a tiny bit to be gained by going to another kind of bike lube.

One thing heavily touted about driverless cars is eliminating drunk driving, but now you’re telling me that won’t happen? Are self-driving cars legal? And if so, can I drive home drunk in one?

More stupid infrastructure tricks. 12 of America’s Biggest Highway Boondoggles There are an uncomfortably large number of TXDoT projects on that list.

High hopes for e-assist bikes’ future. 1 in 3 bicycles will be an e-bike by 2023: Study Possibly too high hopes, the projections seem unrealistic.

Last link is something that is on every parent’s mind when their kid(s) is(are) out on two wheels. What to Do When Your Kid Crashes a Bike

And that’s all I got today. Apparently I missed Penguin Awareness Day, not that I need any more awareness of penguins with my name. More tomorrow.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Large hunks of links are from Twitter, and the rest of the Feed

It takes longer to filter, but I’m finding more and better links on Twitter than I do in my Feed Folder in my e-mail. I think that may be due to having humans directly sending me the links from the articles as they post. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I can give you better links than I used to.

Up first, LEO have found the driver who killed a cyclist earlier this week. PD: Police identify woman who struck, killed bicyclist in Pasadena They haven’t arrested her, just “talked” to her.

More on the cyclist killed in MN by a driver who crossed the entire road to hit him. UMD mourns staff member killed while bicycling in Hermantown and SUV fatally hits bicyclist in Hermantown heading other way on shoulder I’m still trying to figure out why the driver is not in jail for this.

Since we are in “old wreck” mode at the moment, more on the cyclist killed in CA during a time trial event. In the News: Cyclist killed by car in California TT race and CHP Finds a New Way to Blame the Bicycle Rider Yep, getting blamed for the driver that hit you in your lane is pretty low, even for the CHP. Seriously, what would Jon and Ponch say? More Cyclist killed in Esparto was experienced Foster City rider

Still in CA, a hit-and-run driver attempts murder when the victim catches back up to him. Driver charges at cyclist, carries him on hood and Caught On Camera: San Francisco Cyclist Ends Up On Windshield In Apparent Hit-And-Run So two hit-and-run incidents, one that might have only cost the driver a ticket for violating the 3-feet-to-pass law, and a second that might end up with assault charges.

Another AZ cyclist hit from behind in the bike lane. Bicyclist killed in northwest Tucson collision I have lost count of the number of cyclists hit from behind in the bike lanes of AZ this year, but it seems to be too common even if there were only two. The danger zone in this wreck was the mixing zone before the turn lane. The driver failed to yield to the vehicle in front (the cyclist) and killed the cyclist as a result. I know what will stop wrecks like this, but I don’t know how well it would fly in the current legislative climate. When you hit a cyclist you lose your car, 90 days if there was no or non-serious levels of injury, a year for transport to hospital wrecks, and forever if the cyclist dies from injuries or in case of hit-and-run.

Not a bicycle wreck, but indicative of what you could expect as a cyclist if you get hit. NYPD: “No Criminality” as Cab Driver Runs Over Kids on Bronx Sidewalk and TLC: Driver Who Hit Children on Bronx Sidewalk Works for Uber [Updated] The car went completely across the sidewalk and bounced off the building that a commenter stated was 20-25 feet away from the curb, and in the video I thought I saw the left front wheel pointed towards the camera which means the suspension was broken when it hit the curb. I estimate the vehicle speed at 40-50 MPH. But the NYPD doesn’t suspect any criminality for driving 40-50 MPH on the sidewalk full of kids… TANJ!

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Cedillo condemns calls for safer streets, Coronado madness round 3, and more bighearted people Cedillo needs to be charged as an accessory for all the people killed and maimed since he stopped the North Figueroa project literally days before it was to begin for no apparent reason. I still say follow the money.

A restaurant named after the great Eddy Merckx. The Cannibal, a restaurant and butcher shop coming to Culver City, with bike valet Free beer when you wear your bike kit into the establishment.

A CT cyclist gets injured and he’s the guy responsible for getting other people to live more healthy. Norwalk Director of Public Health injured in bicycle accident over weekend This sounds like a buzz job to me. Or maybe a “punishment pass” for daring to ride in the street.

There are good people in this world. Woman injured riding bike wants to thank stranger who helped her Fortunately they filled the pothole but unfortunately not until after her wreck.

Another buzz job in NC kills another NC cyclist. Cyclist dies in road accident Another driver driving too fast to stop in the distance he could see clearly blames the victim for not wearing a glow-in-the-dark clown suit with body armor.

If you are going to carry cocaine on your person, know that you don’t have to submit to a search until after you get arrested, and put some lights on your bike. Bicycle stop leads to cocaine arrest “The pill bottle contained 0.2 grams of powder cocaine” or not enough to get a chihuahua high, much less an adult human being.

Another Wounded Warrior ride north of WoaB. Injured Service Members Ride toward Recovery in Oklahoma’s Capital City If you’re in the area give these guys a cheer when they ride by.

A wreck in Oz involving two cyclists and a car and they can’t figure out who was where and which way they were going. Cyclists injured in Monaro Highway crash How crazy is that?

Also in Oz they have another wreck they are trying to decipher. Police appeal for witnesses after cyclist injured – Dora Creek

Last link, I’m sure you are the kind of person who always makes sure the quick releases on your bike are done up tight, but you brother-in-law hasn’t checked his since Clinton was in office so he might want to check this out. Thirteen bike companies recall models over disc brake/QR concern This is the same QR as the Trek recall only on other manufacturer’s bikes.

And I’m out of links again for the day. Grocery day tomorrow.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

The temperature in my office varies between 77 and 78 so why is my butt cold? and the Feed

One of the questions tormenting mankind it is. Either my thermometer is busted, or there is something that has seriously changed in my levels of temperature tolerance. I mean I’m the guy who used to wear shorts year around, now I’m getting cold in a room that is 77°F? That’s a large change of temperature tolerance, or maybe I’m just so heat acclimated that it will take a while to get ready for winter this year. I did notice that I now have a couple of pairs of shorts that fall off if I don’t pooch my tummy out to keep them tight all the time, so maybe I have lost some more body fat or my glutes don’t hang out as far as they used to. Either or both of those could result in my feeling cold because of a lack of internal heat generators or inability to keep the heat I generate contained in my body with insulating body fat.

This popped up again in the Feed. Ex-Episcopal church bishop who killed cyclist pleads guilty to manslaughter, drunken driving and Former Episcopal Church Bishop Who Killed Cyclist While Driving Drunk Pleads Guilty also Ex-Bishop Who Killed Cyclist Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter this too Ex-Bishop Who Fatally Struck Cyclist Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter I could have sworn I did this last month…

It only took two years and the building owners complaining about “squatters”. Police shut down notorious ‘Slabtown’ stolen bike chop shop Why is it they can get a half-dozen cops to run a stop sign sting when some busybody makes a single phone call, but a criminal operation that cops witness in operation goes two years without being able to shut it down?

Same state as WoaB but Kansas is closer than this wreck. Boy struck by vehicle moved to Houston hospital From the damage to the bike I’m going to assume the kid could have made it across the road had the weapon vehicle been doing the 35 MPH speed limit, because I didn’t see anything blaming the victim.

Meanwhile in TN. Bicyclist struck, killed by car in Sumner County and Woman killed while riding bike on Cross Plains highway Hit from behind wreck as the cyclist turned, or is that the next paragraph?

I know for sure this cyclist was hit preparing to make a left turn. Cyclist Struck, Killed In Henderson Co. and Cyclist killed in crash on U.S. 64 in Hendersonville also Henderson Co. Mother Hit, Killed While Riding Bike to Work Notice the cyclist is being blamed for not wearing a helmet or a glow-in-the-dark clown suit, while nothing was said about the drivers not driving according to conditions because they couldn’t stop when they saw her preparing to turn.

In OR two cyclists are hit at the same time by a blind driver. 1 cyclist dead, 1 injured in Newberg crash According to Google the wreck was 30 minutes before sunset and everyone was going west, with an elderly driver behind the wheel of the weapon vehicle. Unfortunately in situations like this cyclists are dependant on drivers doing the right thing and driving according to conditions, because there is nothing a cyclist can do to make herself more visible against the glare of the sun.

If I’m reading this report right the cyclist pulled out right in front of the weapon vehicle without activating the crossing signal. Eleven-year-old boy injured in bike crash The street view shows the switch to activate the crossing lights on a pole on the opposite side of the path from the stop sign, facing away from the path. To put it bluntly this was designed to get cyclists killed.

Some mixed news from IA. UPDATE: Police ID Council Bluffs bicyclist killed, driver arrested Cyclist getting killed = bad, killer getting arrested = good. Another hit-from-behind wreck because the driver failed to drive according to conditions.

I think it’s time for Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: New website seeks to undo Rowena road diet, and more news about kindhearted people

Still in CA. Brentwood: Bicyclist killed by suspected DUI driver ID’d as Brentwood woman Another driver and cyclist headed west, but this time about an hour before sunset.

He owns the championship-winning IndyCar team, he has one driver in the Chase and another who can win his way in, and teams contending for the USSCC in road racing, so he goes for a bike ride to relax. Chip Ganassi injured in bicycling accident I have to say that I didn’t have that much hardware when I broke 4 bones in my wreck.

A wreck in CT leaves a young victim and several people damaged by the wreck from a distance. Classmates remember Waterbury teen killed after being hit by car The only thing about this link that was the same when I filtered it is the URL.

From the really eastern part of the Great White North. Cyclist killed in collision in Sydney Since they aren’t blaming the cyclist on this one and it sounds like it may be an intersection wreck from the side… More Cape Breton Regional Police continue to investigate crash that killed cyclist

Update on another cyclist hit in the Great White North. Injured cyclist is recovering Just a reminder this was a SWSS wreck.

Two links to the same UK wreck at the same paper less than 18 hours apart. Norham Road collision: Man arrested after cyclist injured in North Shields and the later one Norham Road collision: Man due in court after cyclist injured in North Shields The first link makes it sound like a possible attempted murder charge, the second is “causing injury by dangerous driving“.

As more and more cyclists are injured by potholes in the UK, there inevitably comes the backlash against the people who failed to maintain the roads. Injured cyclist plans to sue council over potholes In the UK road users are allowed to sue local agencies in charge of maintaining the roads when they are not maintained.

I have to admit that I clicked on this link mostly to find out what kind of animal a sjambok was. Patrols after sjambok attack on cyclists Silly me, a sjambok is some kind of weapon, but I still don’t know what one looks like so I googled it and found this Sjambok

I think we have a winner for the hyperbolic letter of the year award. Letter: Bicyclists the ‘ISIS of rural roads’ Really, ISIS of rural roads? There must be a huge number of car/bike wrecks where everybody in the car died that I haven’t heard of.

Are you riding with the wrong cranks? Are shorter cranks better?

Rhetorical question: Are you ready to save the world? The World Could Save Trillions With Buses and Bikes

Last link is a different take on the Barnes Dance. Video: Pedestrians Turn Busy Intersection Into Dance Floor

And I feel like hell, again. I need to do something about this, maybe get a better chair?

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Ghisallo! it was a hot day to be out walking, and the Feed

In case you are wondering, the Lady Ghisallo is my personal feminine deity, a pre-Roman mountain goddess whose worship survived mostly intact at least into the 8th Century in the mountains north of Rome, when a nobleman set upon by bandits retreated into one of Her temples and was granted sanctuary by the bandits, who respected Her temple. The noble was so impressed by the devotion shown by the bandits that he lobbied the Vatican to declare her a Madonna or a Pagan mother of Jesus. This was the same way that Bridget became St. Bridget in Ireland, couldn’t stomp her out so she was made a part of the church. She is a protector of travellers and the RC patroness of cyclists.

And the reason I was out wandering in this heat was I had to change my phone provider, so that I could upgrade my phone to something smarter. And in the process I got a better plan, unlimited texts and calls, with 1 GB of 4G LTE data and unlimited 3G data, none of which I touch while connected via WiFi like I am now while listening to a 10 hour Derpygroove video while composing this post. whoops I got an ad in the middle of the first go around of the song so now I’m listening to Plastic Beach from the Gorillaz. I’m still learning how to use the phone so there may be interruptions in the composing of the post.

Up first, just like the Energizer Bunny, he keeps going and going… Brian Koonz: Marine loses legs, finds strength in bike ride across America And going and going… Keep on trucking Marine dood. Is it just my imagination or has his chest gotten bigger since he left Sandy Eggo?

Normally these two-wheeled modes are not in conflict with each other. BICYCLIST, MOTORCYCLE RIDER CRITICALLY INJURED IN NORTHWEST SIDE CRASH and Bicyclist, motorcyclist injured in Old Irving Park crash this too Bicyclist Injured In Crash With Motorcycle In Old Irving Park [UPDATED] As I read the reports now, the guy on the motorcycle was speeding and hit the cyclist from behind, causing both to go down hard. No word on how the two conflicted because there is plenty of room for both modes to share that stretch of street unless the motorcyclist was excessive speeding.

Still in the Windy City a drunk driver who killed a cyclist while driving 50 MPH on a city street with a 0.127 BAC% will not face one of the many charges against him because expensive defense lawyer. Driver Who Killed Cyclist Bobby Cann In Alleged DUI Won’t Face Homicide Charges According to the comments this was one of the lesser charges and since IL doesn’t “stack” sentences it wouldn’t have made much difference in how long he stays in prison.

Another cyclist hit by a drunk driver in NYC. Cyclist In Critical Condition After Getting Hit By Allegedly Drunk Driver In Long Island City and Cyclist Seriously Hurt in Collision With Car Near Queens Plaza, FDNY Says The pictures pretty much tell the story, drunk driver (and passenger?) hit cyclist from behind because nobody was paying attention to what was in front of the vehicle…

More on that CO dump truck driver hitting and killing a cyclist while passing illegally. Dump truck driver charged for fatal cyclist crash The cyclist was killed because the driver literally could not wait for the 20 seconds it would take to clear the bridge and pass safely. Hang the driver. And possibly a few of the people leaving comments on the article. Gigi would love the “Stoopid and H8” there.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Busting on Beverly Hills and its San Diego soulmates, and a Chitown writer busts on bikes

Meanwhile in eastern WA. Cyclist found dead on State Route 2 near Leavenworth I like whoever is running this investigation. Dead cyclist beside the road, suspect a hit-and-run.

And in Seattle. Cyclist’s Helmet Cam Captures Moment SUV Hits Him Then Speeds Away That was a scary wreck.

Another link to the ride for a cyclist killed winning the “door prize”. Patricia Keenan, P.E.I. cyclist killed in B.C. crash, honoured at rally

I would like to see our state level politicians doing a city-to-city ride, just to see what it’s like to use the built environment. Duceppe, Peladeau kick off 100-km pre-election bike ride through Quebec

Bad infrastructure link of the day. NZTA abandons cycle safe trial after a day I think someone needs to read that CROW manual again. Bike lanes on either side and a single car lane is for 20 MPH speed zones or slower.

Better, but still crap. Is Vision Zero Skimping On Bike Lanes? There is too much real estate devoted to storage of private motor vehicles. One lane of parking should go for a decent bike lane protected by parking.

Dangerous crap. NYC’s Most Dangerous Area for Cyclists Is Fort Greene-Clinton Hill

More UK crap infrastructure, systemic this time. Calls for action to halt rise in cyclist casualties

I think I have run out of links (checks, nothing on the other window except a Twitter Feed) Yep, all gone.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

The Greenville Ave St.Patrick’s Day Parade was not a Fun Time, and other stuff on Wreck-Free Sunday

Yesterday was a painful experience for me going to the local Big Parade. Getting there was not that bad except that the new shoes have not been modified to compensate for the hunk I lost out of my left leg back in ’01, so I was working on MOABackaches by the time I walked to the bus stop, but that eased off when I got on the bus and transferred to the train and the other train. Sitting with my pelvis level really takes the strain off my back. So the pain is just because I have to keep the muscles contracted on the side of my back opposite that leg which after a while restricts blood flow and causes all kinds of other problems that combine to result in a quiet stream of mutter expletives until I can sit or lie down and take the strain off. When I take anti-inflammatory drugs the pain is lessened, having the lift in the shoe for the short leg does a heck of a lot more to reduce the pain, both together is the best thing I have found so far.

Anyway, I got to the parade site about 90 minutes early because you really need to get there early to have a place to stand where you can see the parade. Remember the twinges I was getting on the way there? By the time the parade made it to our spot those “twinges” had progressed to feeling that the short leg was on fire and someone was pounding on my foot with a sledgehammer (that was on fire). I’m not looking for sympathy here, just telling it like it is. But I was not the only person having a bad parade.

Yes, that cooler just fell completely apart apparently from a structural defect combined with a heavy load of drinks and ice. Talk about a bummer.

And speaking of pictures, the pictures I took Friday night of the people picketing my church finally showed in my in box this morning, what took you?

Seriously, you guys didn’t have anything better to do on a Friday night?

I was watching the Sprint Cup race from Phoenix while I was doing this post, and Happy Harvick won again, putting him way out in front of the standings for the Chase for the Cup. There were a lot of cars that crashed out because they cooked the right rear tire tread right off the tire which causes the car to spin and then crash into the wall, including Dale Jr. and Jimmy Johnson. There was a lot of close racing except for the lead, because Harvick basically ran off and hid from the rest of the field except for green flag pit stops…

Now I’m watching the recording I made earlier of the FIA Formula E race in Miami, an all-electric racing series in its first year. Basically everybody is learning how to race EV with spec cars so they can really go at it over the next 5 years when they will be on spec chassis and tires with free within limits powertrains and batteries. Then we will see some tactical racing because the ridiculous car change “pit stop” will be eliminated supposedly in the fifth season and drivers will be required to complete the race on a single charge without recharge/replacing the battery. So basically at this point the winner of the race counts, but not really because this is all a series to learn how to race EV as a team, which I think they could learn from talking to electric RC racers, but hey, NIH (Not Invented Here) exists as an acronym for a reason.

I joined a new RP Group that will stick to D&D 3.5. This group will lean a lot more heavily on RP than on combat so when I built my character (on a 32 point buy system) I maxed out Charisma and dumped my Strength. I will start playing on the 28th because two members of the group have a church obligation next Saturday the 21st. Incidentally the “nice” people who were at the church in that group picture above promised to come back for the Sumerian ritual this Saturday. Considering the people doing the ritual are not the most tolerant people in the world when ritual is interrupted, I do not see good things in the future for the picketers. 😛

This is going to be interesting. Tune in for the report next Sunday, and stay here for regular posting Monday through Friday.

PSA, Opus the Poet

Happy 50% off chocolate day, on a Wreck-Free Sunday

Today and tomorrow are the days that are usually the best for getting cheap chocolate candy, most of the grocery stores in my area have hacked prices by half or more. Just stay outta my way. I WILL run you over.

The RPG group did not have a good night last night, as we lost two players to personality issues. My warlock could not hit the broad side of a barn with his eldrich blast, I had a bad case of bad dice. My perception and listen checks came out great, I could see and hear all kinds of things that the rest missed. So it averaged out. Also I finally had a chance to use my “you ain’t dead” cantrip spell, twice. Of course had I been able to hit my targets better that would not have been necessary.

I did the service this morning, as some of you may have surmised from the post from last Saturday entitled “Sermon”. I had some technical difficulties with my laptop in that while I could expand my active screen to both the laptop screen to the HD TV we have on one wall, and get audio out through the HDMI cable, I could not get the videos to play on the TV while leaving my sermon up on the laptop screen. They would not drag over to the TV and nothing I did would cause anything I had open on the laptop screen to move to the TV. The workaround was to mirror the display on both screens, have the remote for the TV at the podium with the lap top, and switch the TV off when I had to read the sermon and back on when I had a video to show. The problem with that was I could not read the sermon while the video was showing so I had to read stuff before that I was supposed to read during.

Now I have to get my head together for a sermon due the end of next month, for April Fools’ Day. My previous services on that day have varied in quality between legendary and Stoopid. My Banishing Chaos services tended towards the Stoopid, but some of my embracing chaos services tended to the legendary. The one where I used children to call the elements as Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner with one of the mothers in the church to be Hellooo! Nurse was one of the more legendary services I have performed. And the Meditation that turned into a game of Dodgeball also falls under that legendary tending to Stoopid or perhaps Legendarily Stoopid. So I have a high hurdle to surmount of my own creation.

I leave you with this link to a very pleasant video of people bicycling during a steady snowfall. What it Feels Like in Winter Cycling Paradise See, it can be done with the right equipment. Notice that most of those bikes were equipped with studded tires for getting traction on ice.

PSA, Opus