I go on metformin cut myself down to 50-60g of carbs per day, and stick my finger 4 times a day.
Rant VIII: The Reckoning
- Thread starter Anonymous
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He must travel to the remote islands of the South Pacific, steal the pancreas from a healthy virgin, and eat it to gain their powers
Can I skip the pancreas part and just eat the healthy virgin?
They're 15, you pervert.Can I skip the pancreas part and just eat the healthy virgin?
Well, it'd be a low carb snack, that's for sure
GasBandit
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Ironically, that appears to be astroturf.
. . . I think I have diabetes now . . . just sayin' . . .
Just experienced some driver/cyclist road rage.
So I was biking home tonight with a friend after volunteering at Bike Again (they fix up used/donated bikes and resell them). We were riding beside each other on a 4-lane road. Plenty of lights flashing (I had a bright rear one and another hanging from my backpack; he had two flashing back lights). Any cars that came behind us simply took the left lane.
Then this one asshole drives right up behind us and blares his horn. Darren (my friend) pointed to the left lane, but the guy refused to give up and kept laying on the horn.
Rather than bother with a confrontation, I moved as far to the right as I could. I was already on the right side other lane, anyway. But Darren not only stayed on the left side, but veered as close to the white line as possible. The driver almost had his bumper right against Darren's back tire. By this point, I've stopped entirely and the driver passes me, continuing the confrontation with Darren.
I yelled at Darren that he was being an asshole and he finally relented, pulling to the right hand side. The driver continued on in the right lane.
We argued about it afterwards. Darren's point was that we are "entitled" to the right lane and when there's that little traffic, we're more than allowed to use it. Plus, there was a left lane for drivers to pass by us as if we were a slow-moving vehicle. My point was yes, the driver was an asshole, started the confrontation, and could've easily used the other lane, but Darren unnecessarily escalated the situation.
So I was biking home tonight with a friend after volunteering at Bike Again (they fix up used/donated bikes and resell them). We were riding beside each other on a 4-lane road. Plenty of lights flashing (I had a bright rear one and another hanging from my backpack; he had two flashing back lights). Any cars that came behind us simply took the left lane.
Then this one asshole drives right up behind us and blares his horn. Darren (my friend) pointed to the left lane, but the guy refused to give up and kept laying on the horn.
Rather than bother with a confrontation, I moved as far to the right as I could. I was already on the right side other lane, anyway. But Darren not only stayed on the left side, but veered as close to the white line as possible. The driver almost had his bumper right against Darren's back tire. By this point, I've stopped entirely and the driver passes me, continuing the confrontation with Darren.
I yelled at Darren that he was being an asshole and he finally relented, pulling to the right hand side. The driver continued on in the right lane.
We argued about it afterwards. Darren's point was that we are "entitled" to the right lane and when there's that little traffic, we're more than allowed to use it. Plus, there was a left lane for drivers to pass by us as if we were a slow-moving vehicle. My point was yes, the driver was an asshole, started the confrontation, and could've easily used the other lane, but Darren unnecessarily escalated the situation.
That's scary! I'm glad that neither of you got hurt. Out where we live, there is a highway that is labelled as a shared biking and driving highway (Maybe you've been?) and it scares me because it's super narrow and twisty and incredibly dark at night. I worry about there not being room for everyone if there are cars in both lanes and a bike as well and there are so many blind turns where it's not safe to sue the other lane. That being said, as long as the bike is well lit etc, its super easy to drive around them or on the highway by us, slow down until the left lane is free.
That driver sounds like a total ass. It's not like it was rush hour. He had plenty of options to drive around.
That driver sounds like a total ass. It's not like it was rush hour. He had plenty of options to drive around.
If there's a second lane in the same direction, there really is very little reason for the driver not to simply pass you by.
I don't know how wide the lane is (American and Canadian lanes tend to be wider than European lanes) and/or the hardened side of the road, but "moving aside to let it pass" can in itself be hazardous - especially when it's an asshole driver. A car should always try to leave about a meter (...yard for the Americans
) between the side of their vehicle and a bike they're passing, otherwise a good gust of wind can cause a collision or a slight swerve might connect a rear view mirror and a bike. That's obviously the car's responsibility, not the bike's, but if he's an asshole who's going to pass you in the same lane, chances are he's not going to move over enough, but is going to "graze" the side of your bike. I've seen people fall from passing trucks, simply from the wind gusting around the back. Don't think the truck even slowed down. So, in that sense, trying to "force" the car to move to the left lane wasn't necessarily wrong. Though "inducing road rage" probably isn't a smart move. If it was safe enough/wide enough to get off the lane, that was definitely the smarter thing to do.
Of course, a lot of people in traffic - car, bike, pedestrian -tend to think that if they have a legal right, they should always use it. There are plenty of "bike streets" in my town, where it's illegal to overtake a bike. If there's a dick car behind me revving or even honking, I'm more than likely to stay right in the middle of the street and the car can hang behind me at 15 kph. If they're polite and keep their distance, I'm likely to move aside to allow them to safely pass me by. Some people take pleasure in biking down the street at walking pace just to bug people "'because they're in their right". Same thing applies to cars "jumping" the green light. It's not a race, being off the line the exact split second the light turns green isn't necessary (...though don't dawdle). Almost hitting the old lady crossing who hasn't vacated the crossroads yet, and moving up against her, might be technically legal but still a dick move.
I don't know how wide the lane is (American and Canadian lanes tend to be wider than European lanes) and/or the hardened side of the road, but "moving aside to let it pass" can in itself be hazardous - especially when it's an asshole driver. A car should always try to leave about a meter (...yard for the Americans
) between the side of their vehicle and a bike they're passing, otherwise a good gust of wind can cause a collision or a slight swerve might connect a rear view mirror and a bike. That's obviously the car's responsibility, not the bike's, but if he's an asshole who's going to pass you in the same lane, chances are he's not going to move over enough, but is going to "graze" the side of your bike. I've seen people fall from passing trucks, simply from the wind gusting around the back. Don't think the truck even slowed down. So, in that sense, trying to "force" the car to move to the left lane wasn't necessarily wrong. Though "inducing road rage" probably isn't a smart move. If it was safe enough/wide enough to get off the lane, that was definitely the smarter thing to do.Of course, a lot of people in traffic - car, bike, pedestrian -tend to think that if they have a legal right, they should always use it. There are plenty of "bike streets" in my town, where it's illegal to overtake a bike. If there's a dick car behind me revving or even honking, I'm more than likely to stay right in the middle of the street and the car can hang behind me at 15 kph. If they're polite and keep their distance, I'm likely to move aside to allow them to safely pass me by. Some people take pleasure in biking down the street at walking pace just to bug people "'because they're in their right". Same thing applies to cars "jumping" the green light. It's not a race, being off the line the exact split second the light turns green isn't necessary (...though don't dawdle). Almost hitting the old lady crossing who hasn't vacated the crossroads yet, and moving up against her, might be technically legal but still a dick move.
Yeah, the two lanes were PLENTY wide enough for him to get around. At least 20 other cars passed us on the same street before and after the incident.
Darren and I had a long chat about it afterwards, too. I look at it like this: cyclists already get a bad rap because of some that give us a bad name. I remember stopping at a red light on a major intersection once and another cyclist zoomed right past me. I shouted to him, "You're giving us a bad name!" but he was long gone. Incidents like last night will only make things worse. That driver will now hate cyclists even more because of Darren's actions and will probably tell the story to all his friends. The driver was absolutely still in the wrong and created an unnecessary confrontation, but he'll see himself as the one who's right.
Thing is, I've heard from so many people that they'd commute more on the roads if they felt safer. I look at the infrastructures over on @Bubble181's side of the world and imagine what it'd be like over here. Then again, I've talked with people about this, too. In Europe, it was easier to implement those infrastructures because Europe, as far as I know, was originally built without motor vehicle infrastructures. The automobile wasn't invented by the time major cities had risen up, so there's more infrastructure for, say, trains and other methods of public transit. In North America, however, it wasn't long after the expansion across the west that the automobile was invented and became a major mode of transportation. A lot of North America is split up with long distances between major cities, and even within cities, so a car is almost a necessity. Plus, the auto companies putting the kibosh on things like public transit in earlier times in order to push their product.
Darren and I had a long chat about it afterwards, too. I look at it like this: cyclists already get a bad rap because of some that give us a bad name. I remember stopping at a red light on a major intersection once and another cyclist zoomed right past me. I shouted to him, "You're giving us a bad name!" but he was long gone. Incidents like last night will only make things worse. That driver will now hate cyclists even more because of Darren's actions and will probably tell the story to all his friends. The driver was absolutely still in the wrong and created an unnecessary confrontation, but he'll see himself as the one who's right.
Thing is, I've heard from so many people that they'd commute more on the roads if they felt safer. I look at the infrastructures over on @Bubble181's side of the world and imagine what it'd be like over here. Then again, I've talked with people about this, too. In Europe, it was easier to implement those infrastructures because Europe, as far as I know, was originally built without motor vehicle infrastructures. The automobile wasn't invented by the time major cities had risen up, so there's more infrastructure for, say, trains and other methods of public transit. In North America, however, it wasn't long after the expansion across the west that the automobile was invented and became a major mode of transportation. A lot of North America is split up with long distances between major cities, and even within cities, so a car is almost a necessity. Plus, the auto companies putting the kibosh on things like public transit in earlier times in order to push their product.
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Houston, for instance, was a small town until the 1940s. The car was firmly established by the time Teapot Dome was discovered, and Houston grew. So everything was expanded for cars.
That said, though, Houston has pretty good bike lanes. And even marked bike roads in some areas.
That said, though, Houston has pretty good bike lanes. And even marked bike roads in some areas.
In many (most?) locations in the US, this is actually codified into law.A car should always try to leave about a meter (...yard for the Americans
--Patrick
There are more and more large city centers that are improving their bike infrastructure. Halifax isn't doing bad, especially in the core downtown area. And I've heard the three top cycling Canadian cities are (in no particular order) Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver. Calgary and Toronto are also getting much better, too, from what I hear.
Well, this sometimes goes both ways. You're certainly right about inter-city distances. Cities are closer together and there's usually decent infrastructure to go from one to the other, which isn't always true over there.
On the other hand, inner cities can in many ways be worse. Many American (and Canadian) cities have fairly "planned out" centers - be they boring (Manhattan) or pre-planned (Washington DC) or somewhere in between (Ottawa). European city centers were built around "everyone's on foot or maybe a horse, carts need to be able to pass through the bigger streets". A LOT of even fairly important roads aren't wide enough for two cars to cross, let alone have bike lanes.
We're currently in the process of putting in bike highways in between cities, completely independent from car roads (they're usually more or less parallel to railways) - straight shots across 10 or 15 kilometers at a stretch. Great, but hard to put in because everything's so built up. That'd be easier over there, I imagine.
The U.S. is different all over though in that respect. For example, my parents live in an area where the city and all it's towns/suburbs basically smoosh together and you can only tell you crossed town lines if there's a sign. Meanwhile in Colorado, my town and the city next door keep getting into pissing contests about how much open space needs to exist between each other.
What scares me is that the old Highway out where we are has no room for bikes and is labeled as a biking road. The roads in town are much better!
They have done some construction this summer and a small portion has been made wider. Hopefully this is the plan for all of it?
They have done some construction this summer and a small portion has been made wider. Hopefully this is the plan for all of it?
Let you buddy know that he was right. But it is possible to be dead right.
So much for a stress-free job hunt. The short version is this. There's not enough funds to pay both the nursing home and the mortgage. And not paying the nursing home is not an option. The bank will not take partial payments, and even a renegotiation only cut about $100 per month.
It's come down to this. Get a roommate and lose the cats. That or lose the house and move. And still lose the cats. Everything that I might have wanted to do outside of the job hunt is now off the table. All the cost cutting I've done was geared towards having just me in the house. That's all been for naught now. I've got to get back to emptying out spare rooms that have been used for storage. It's all trash now.
I haven't given up hope just yet, but I feel like such a goddamned failure.
It's come down to this. Get a roommate and lose the cats. That or lose the house and move. And still lose the cats. Everything that I might have wanted to do outside of the job hunt is now off the table. All the cost cutting I've done was geared towards having just me in the house. That's all been for naught now. I've got to get back to emptying out spare rooms that have been used for storage. It's all trash now.
I haven't given up hope just yet, but I feel like such a goddamned failure.
I'm so sorry this is happening. It must be incredibly stressful.
It's hard to muster up the energy to even get off the couch to make a sandwich. The cats are trying to cheer me up, but that's only making it worse.
Probably want to stay away from the Warren Zevon/Jim Morrison for a while.
--Patrick
I assume you've seen the recruitment video? The one that's supposed to appeal to today's youth?
--Patrick
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How do you use flat washer? I'm asking for a friend.
Well.... generally speaking, you put them between the nut you're tightening down and the surface through which the bolt has passed, in order to spread the point load of that bolt/nut solution across a wider surface area and to ensure that the bolt doesn't just get ripped back through the hole, nut and all.
Or, you call them and say "Good day, how much to wash my flat, it's getting quite atrocious?"