mind grapes

I don’t generally love HDR photography, but these are still pretty neat.

This bomb threat maker is such a dick.

The anti-cyclist comments on this article are so frustrating. I want to respond to all of them, but one of these days I need to get some real-life work done… ugh. I know nothing I say is going to make them stop being idiots, but I can’t help but take this stuff personally.

This has been me constantly since yesterday when multiple articles announced the enactment of PA HB 170 and all the internet jerks came out to talk about running cyclists over with their SUVs:

It’s funny, I didn’t realize that voicing concerns about fracking/drilling in PA was the same as being a military insurgent:

“Matt Carmichael, manager of external affairs for Anadarko Petroleum, which has nearly 300,000 acres of Marcellus Shale gas holdings under lease in Central Pennsylvania, gave a speech urging industry media spokesmen to read a military counterinsurgency manual for tips in dealing with opponents to shale gas development.

‘Download the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency,” Mr. Carmichael said in a session titled “Understanding How Unconventional Oil & Gas Operators are Developing a Comprehensive Media Relations Strategy to Engage Stakeholders and Educate the Public.’”

So, as I was riding through Oakland on my way home yesterday, Bikeybike and I almost got smushed by a dumb lady on a cell phone who changed lanes without checking her blind spot - actually, without checking fucking anything. I came to a screeching halt to avoid her, yelling the whole time, and then I stayed right behind her and kept yelling for a couple of blocks. She remained completely oblivious and never noticed that she almost killed someone. I was not amused. (And, mind you, I was stopping at stoplights and being ultra-predictable and taking the lane and keeping up with traffic and everything. For all intents and purposes, I act like a skinny car, especially in Oakland where I feel the need to contrast myself with all the wobbly sidewalk riders. It is not hard to figure out how to share the road with me.) Seriously, who changes lanes without even looking? Had I been a car taking up the whole lane and with much less ability to stop quickly, she and I both would have been screwed.

…And then Mr. Bike Snob posted this and expressed my feelings entirely. He’s on my wavelength today.

Lizard brains indeed.

(And I guess I have a lizard brain too, which would explain why I didn’t react logically by getting her license plate number. Blergh.)