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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

John Ball Zoo


This past weekend, I had the chance to go with a small group to visit the John Ball Zoo. One of our people who also happens to volunteer at the zoo during the summer was our guide through the park. It was a fascinating visit that we had their. I have not been to John Ball Zoo since I was younger and it was great to see the changes that have happened there.

posted by speeddemon0117 @ 6:35 PM 0 Comments


Tuesday, July 29, 2008

A few word on cyclists vs P.O.B.s (people on bicycles)

The first video I have to show here is one guy whose real problem is not with real cyclists. Real cyclists always do whatever they can to make themselves visible to traffic and avoid the temptation to ride like they are invisible to traffic. We know that in order to ride safely, we have to make ourselves as visible as possible to others using the road. Cyclists do everything we can to obey the traffic laws. We don't run stop signs or red lights. I wish I could say the same for drivers.

The polite term for morons who do this would be people on bicyclists. I prefer to call them A.O.B.s, short for assholes on bicycles.

The problem is that here in the U.S., biking to work is still con sidered an oddity. Cycling has been traditionally marketed here as a sport and not a legitimate form of transportation. I think that if more people rode their bikes wherever they go and bothered to learn the rules of the road, attitudes toward cyclists would change for the better.

Now, the person in this video obviously has nothing better to do with their time than to hate on people. Life is just short for that. Obesity has reached epidemic levels, the price of gasoline has skyrocketed, and all the money we spend on oil is going to the terrorists who are killing our servicemen. And who is he even bothering to hate? Why, that happens to be the only people even bothering to do anything about it! His argument lacks any common sense. Just pass us and get a life!

We ride in the road in order to be seen. The so-called "bike path" has proven to be way more dangerous for cyclists. Being seen is being safe. Case in point, riding home from work today, if I had been riding on the bike path, an ignorant female driver who was too busy with her cell phone conversation, ran a stop sign. If I had been riding on the bike path, I could easily have been killed. But since I was in the road, I was able to avoid her. Bike paths are not safe.

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posted by speeddemon0117 @ 11:17 PM 1 Comments


Friday, July 11, 2008

Fun with Windows MovieMaker

This is a collection of photos that I thought would be fun to make into a video. They are not in any particular order.

posted by speeddemon0117 @ 6:04 PM 1 Comments


Tuesday, July 08, 2008

I have a theory

Over the last few months, I have developed a theory as to why some drivers hate bicyclers who choose to ride in the road rather than on the bike path. My theory goes something like this.
On the bike path, we are invisible to traffic. Yes, they can pretend that we don't exist. They can run stop signs in front of us and cut us off without a second thought. Of course, being invisible to traffic also means being invisible to the law.
Let me say that again. If I am invisible o traffic, I am also invisible to the law. There have been studies done that prove that a bicycler riding in the road is four times safer than when they ride on the bike path. Yet, the typical American drivng down the road today has not been taugh that cyclists have the sam righ to the road as a driver does. On the other hand, very few cyclists tke the time to learn the rules of he road themselves.
That said, my theory is that when we ride in the road, (which is our right, anyway) at that point, we are no longer off to the side and out of their line of sight. At that point, we are visible. I have, in the past, heard advice to ride like I am invisible to traffic. That is total rubbish.
The correct answer would be to make oneself as visible to traffic as possible. Standing out in the crowd is definitely a better idea than winding up as someone's hood ornament. Always follow the rulesof the road. At redlights and stop signs, take the lane.I refuse to be intimidated into doing something that I don't agree with.

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posted by speeddemon0117 @ 11:26 PM 1 Comments


Friday, July 04, 2008

My first homemade movie

This is my first time using Windows MovieMaker. I decided to make some of my pictures into a movie. Hopefully, there will be more.

posted by speeddemon0117 @ 9:54 AM 0 Comments