Winter

The snow is all gone, but it's finally cold out and it finally feels like winter.




Gotta love it

Eurosection

Just another reason to subscribe to Dutch Transit Tiger Beat magazines.

Out of the office Pt.94

 

I also found myself in west America and everywhere in between.  

 

It's good to be back.

Out of the office Pt.93

 

I spent a lot of time in Iowa this summer. 

Out of the office Pt.92

 In the past 6 months or so I've moved, been across the country, started a new job, and made some pretty big changes/commitments.  Everything is super fucking good. Been away from computers, blogs, word processors, cameras, etc. unfortunately have been away from my bike a bit too.  Here's to hoping to change that.

Friday

Sabbath, bikes, and fire, what's not to love.

naysayer

I know I run the risk of just sounding like I'm perpetually sour and pissy about everything, and while there is a hair of truth to that I think a more accurate assessment is that I'm just skeptical and a bit of a luddite. Latest case in point:  "Volvo has announced it is releasing a cyclist detection facility which should prevent fatal accidents."

Great! I don't need to worry about those pesky cyclists anymore because my car will do all of the work for me! It's amazing that I have to take less responsibility on the road now!  Yes, I get it.  Any innovation that pushes for safer roads is good. Less people getting hit by cars is a good thing.  And even the most attentive driver and the most attentive responsible pedestrian can still get in an accident that this system could maybe avoid.  Super, whatever, we can agree on that.

However, I think it's insane that this is what someone sat down and saw as the most logical step to preventing accidents and fatalities.  Volvo knows that the best way to avoid hitting a cyclist is simply to encourage drivers to drive less and when you do drive be responsible, courteous, and careful.  But driving less and being responsible are not sexy and they do not sell cars.  Computers in every nook and cranny of a cars cockpit is sexy.  It means you can be footloose and fancy free when you are behind the wheel of a Volvo because, hell, even if you aren't paying attention your car will do the work for you.

The idea that the average motorist needs to be more disconnected from the road and their environment is deranged.  But stepping back and saying "Hey Volvo developer people, maybe instead of investing a ton of R&D on some spaceage car driving shit we should just, you know, like encourage people to drive less and be safer about it when they do drive."  Setting a precedent for increased driver negligence is just a total bummer.   I was glad to see that people in Britain are just as fussy about the thing as I am, but alas I fear that those pleas fall on deaf ears.  Ride safe, ride smart, cars are robots that are no longer liable for hitting you.
Happy Friday!