As I pondered weak and weary and awoke with eyes so bleary, and the Feed

Apologies to Poe for butchering his poem about an obnoxious bird, but yesterday’s massive linkfest took forever to filter and then another half-forever to compose into something that kinda-sorta made sense and I didn’t get to sleep until nearly 0500 because that’s how long it took to wind down my brain and get to sleep. Part of that was because I was thinking about how to make the negative cavity mold for producing the bucket for the Mini Sprint-T, and how to do the build for the chassis and if I wanted to have the fender/tea-tray/running boards as part of the chassis build or do it separately (both IRL and in the model).

AND I was thinking about my Christmas/Yule list because there is little that I really need and not much that I realistically want to get either. I’m starting to either get that old, or I have become that accustomed to poverty that beyond food, shelter, and meaningful work I really don’t want much. As I posted yesterday I have been requested to post my Wish List on my blog again this year so that people will know what to get me that I will like and possibly use and be able to get to it on their phones.

I’m going to start with the “Things to get me if you have no financial limitations” AKA Ridiculous List. I’m going to start with the drivetrain for my Sprint-T, an LS7 engine and 4L70-E transmission to make everything go, really fast. I decided to go with the larger displacement LS7 over the slightly more powerful LS 376-525 because they are within a few pounds of each other and the LS7 has better low-RPM manners than the highly-cammed and even higher-strung 525. For autocrossing and SCCA Solo Racing pulling off a single-pylon hairpin in first gear without having to argue with the car about who is in control is faster than all-out horsepower that is surging and/or bucking, lugging, or otherwise non-linear. And the transmission is because there ain’t room in the footbox for three pedals with enough space between them to only push one at a time when you only want to push one at a time. As it is I’m going to have to install a heel stop to keep my left foot from dragging the brakes all the time.

Also I’m going to need a rear axle with aluminum tubes with Wide5 snouts set to provide a 57″ hub-to-hub width and a differential that will hold up under street and Solo Racing abuse, built as light as possible to improve the sprung/unsprung weight ratio. And that pretty well covers my Fantasy List.

Getting to things that are realistic in costs and desires, I could always use another Starbucks card, Jack in the Box card, TGIFriday’s card, or any other dining gift card. Mrs. the Poet and I have also determined that we will need a new slow-cooker soon. The one we have now is 10 cup capacity and makes a perfect pot of beans and rice that will serve us heartily for at least 2 dinners together, or 5 solo dinners for myself, but the plastic lid is about to fall apart after about 20 years of service and the crock part is getting really hard to clean. Mrs. the Poet has asked for a broom and dishcloths, and would likewise appreciate dining gift cards, for either her birthday this week or Yule next week. She is also seeking a replacement for our dying vacuum cleaner that we can’t get consumables for any more. I think that’s the thing she really wants the most, a working vacuum cleaner.

Also something that happened was I got a PM on FB from a fan that has basically given up on riding on the road. “Opus. Thank you for writing your bike articles. They are important. Cycling was important to me. It is still an important philosophical point for me.
But I have moved on to my motor scooter, for a few of the reasons that you point out.
Im now a “part of traffic” moving with them, not fighting them.
Im tired. The constant battle for a 2ft wide space on a bicycle on public streets was wearing me down.
Life should be more than that. So, while I loved cycling. I still do. But can’t do it. The stress is too much any more.
On my scooter, I can flow WITH the traffic. Not be overwhelmed. Damn” Papa Balloon

Up first is breaking news that Ethan Couch has gone missing and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Warrant For Arrest Of “Affluenza” Teen Ethan Couch This meeting he missed was supposedly going to be for an explanation of the video showing him at a party he was not allowed to attend as part of his probation, according to the broadcast report I was watching.

Next we get two links to another FloriDUH! man on a motorcycle. Police: Motorcyclist ran red light, struck bicyclist near Clearwater Mall and Two men injured in Clearwater motorcycle, bicycle accident The drunk had 11 prior suspensions and reportedly was under suspension again at the time of the wreck. This again leads to the question “How do we keep recidivist drunk drivers from driving again?” because they caught this guy 11 times before and he’s still out there driving. How many times do they suspend a license before putting the guy in jail? There was a comment on the first link to the effect that the drunk’s relatives were convinced that his license had been restored in spite of the records saying it was still suspended. This leads me to deduce the driver is a lying bastard who continued to drive after losing the privilege to drive and telling his relatives he had paid to get his license back. Spoiler, it doesn’t work that way.

Well here’s one deadly FloriDUH! driver that won’t be killing anyone with a motor vehicle any time soon. Bradenton woman sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing bicyclist while fleeing police in stolen car The facts in the case are such that she should never be allowed out until her mental illness is cured or controlled.

More on the moron who ran into a cyclist from behind while stoned on pot. Family of man charged with killing cyclist say it was an accident

After that we need Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: They Drive Among Us part deux, and Marina del Rey rider stopped for biking while black

Still in CA. Cyclist killed, driver arrested in head-on crash in S.F. The narrative shows a scenario that was impossible for a human cyclist to avoid. The driver was basically driving the wrong side of the street in such a way that the cyclist had no place to go.

Not done with CA yet. WOMAN FATALLY STRUCK BY VEHICLE WHILE RIDING BIKE IN SAN JOSE Another blind driver claiming “sun was facing the driver” blinded her to the cyclist.

NYC demonstrates how strongly they care about traffic safety. NYPD Will Briefly Crack Down On Reckless Drivers Near Senior Centers Move it Gramps! You’re holding up traffic.

And something else that will have little to no effect on wrecks or even hit-and-runs. NYC May Double Fines For Hit-And-Run Drivers Gee, doubling the fine for the 1% you actually prosecute…

And the latest wreck this was responding to. Unlicensed Hit-And-Run Driver Critically Injures Woman In Queens Unlicensed driver and a hit-and-run as far as the car would continue to run… Remember that statement about killer drivers and high speed car shredders that turn a Suburban to metal confetti in 1.4 seconds? It should apply to wrecks like this one too.

First-person account of a motor vehicle brandishing incident. Shifting the bike vs. car paradigm The actual article is about infrastructure and sharing the roads, but I’m stuck on that brandishing incident in the opening paragraph because I had a similar incident a few years ago that ended with me on the road instead of my bike.

Another WOW moment. Bystanders lift car off trapped cyclist in China

Last link, TX cyclists get together to restore trees to an area denuded of them. WIMBERLEY RETREET

And I’m outta links again.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Advertisement

Easy day today, and the Feed

I’m almost done filtering today and there are very few links that have made the cut so far. I’m also still pondering the service I have to do on 7/12 about Hephaestus. What I have been able to find other than what drew me to jim initially has been a Harry Potter fanfic from 2011, and the information that specific rituals were handed down as oral tradition from a master smith to his apprentices. So, I’m going to go with what I know, and then in the fine tradition of modern-day Paganism, I’m going to make something up for the actual ritual. Ordinarily I would blame Christians from the Middle Ages for the lack of information but in this case I don’t think I can do that. There is no information because the followers of Hephaestus made sure there was no information except what was written in the myths of the rest of the gods of Olympus. What we know of Hephaestus we know from people who were not specifically his followers, which means what we know is incomplete but not as self-serving for Heph as it would be if Hephaestus’ followers were writing the stories. So perhaps what we have is the most honest presentation we could get for a deity.

In other news Mrs. the Poet reports that “Arthur, Arthur Dent” is “less denty” or less concave and the incision site is looking less like a baseball and more like something you would find on a human being. She says this is “better”. I will take her word on it because she can’t manage to take a picture without blurring it by moving the camera when she trips the shutter so I haven’t seen the back of my neck clearly since the operation.

Up first we have another double dose of Daily Ted. Morning Links: Businesses benefit by trading parking for bike lanes, and new upscale spinning studio in DTLA That’s the good one. Bike rider run over and killed in Stanton hit-and-run after falling in the street That’s the not-so-good one.

And another act of terrorism against UK cyclists. Sussex cyclist breaks collarbone after hitting tripwire in third such incident in a fortnight And I’m not the only one who sees it that way Ian Walker, @ianwalker

Still in not-so-Jolly Olde, more on the cyclist crushed by an HGV making a left turn across the bike lane. Friends of physio killed while cycling in London call for safer roads

Why are they talking about transportational cyclists getting injured or killed, but leading with a picture of the TdF peloton riding under Big Ben? Number of cyclists injured on west London roads rises A similar juxtaposition would be to talk about traffic deaths in Ft. Worth with a picture of the Sprint Cup race at Texas Speedway.

More on that Toronto hit-and-run death. 19-year-old to appear in court after cyclist killed in hit-and-run Comments are still being made that the delay was an attempt to destroy evidence to make prosecution for higher crimes more difficult or impossible, IOW “obstructing justice”.

Still on the other side of the border, a Canuckistani wife says “It’s been a year, what have you done to prevent another death?” A year after cyclist’s death, his widow urges city to make Pembina safe I understand that realistically one year is not enough time to make any significant changes in the infrastructure, but I also understand the frustration of the widow. There should be contracts being let for dirt to fly next summer, since they already have a ready-made template available in the form of the CROW manual that has been available for years for €90 ($101.20 at current exchange rates) plus VAT (no VAT for sales outside of Europe).

Still in Canuckistan and still on the state of their infrastructure, more evidence that reductions in motor vehicle fatalities are the result of making cars more resistant to wrecks than changes in the infrastructure or any improvement in drivers. Edmonton fatal collisions down in 2014 Fatal collisions are down, but cyclist and pedestrian fatalities are up and cyclist injury wrecks are likewise up. Fewer than 1 in 4 wrecks were the fault of the cyclist even judged by car-head LEO, which means that 3 out of 4 wrecks were caused by or the fault of drivers of motor vehicles. That means that 101 out of 144 wrecks were because a driver screwed up so bad that there was no way to deny it.

And I’m all out of links and ready to kick back and have some fun.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet (at current exchange rates that’s still pretty much $0.02)