Another letter to the editor

[Daryl Hunt]

"Will" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Bob wrote:
>
> > I'll agree with you that over-consumption of a depleting resource is
> > the major underlying cause of the current gas prices. I simply don't
> > agree with what to me seems to be the inescapable conclusion of the
> > rest of your argument, that being that if all the gas guzzling vehicles
> > were magically replaced by more efficient vehicles tomorrow gas prices
> > would drop, traffic would flow smoothly, and the air would be
> > noticeably cleaner.
>
> Vehicle replacement is not the answer and I hope we don't spend a lot
> of time and effort proving it out. My guess is we will fool with
> synfuels for a while, fool with ethanol, fool with batteries and
> hybrids... but in the end, we will drop the car concept. And hopefully,
> we will do that before we've made Alberta and other places look like
> lunar landscapes via tar sand extraction. This will not be a bad thing,
> I am hopeful. Trillions of dollars will be available to invest (right
> here in the USA!) once we stop buying cars, stop insuring them, stop
> building roads, paying for traffic management...

Most of the trips made today in vehicles are very short. The Electric
Vehicle can make 5, 10 or even 50 mile runs. Some as slow as 20 mph while
others can run 70 mph. These vehicles will never be Interstate Burners but
for around town transportation they are ideal.

There is even a Porche 911 replica electric that tops out over 100 mph with
a 50 mile range (not running 100 of course). These are all done using Lead
Acids. Using the more expensive Lithiam or the Nasa only Mercury batteries
would expand the performance and range.

There is a vehicle that clearly has been ruled a "Bicycle" that is electric
that at least one state that I know of has attempted to outlaw. The
Electric Bicycle has up to a 20 mile range and runs up to 20 mph, can use
the bike lanes that are getting more and more prevalent these days. See
http://i70west.com/electricbicycle I live about a mile from work and do
ride a bicycle. Since I am in my late 50s, sometimes, I would like to just
get there without the work. But I do require pedaling for health reasons so
I won't give that completely up. But when I do take the bike, I end up
doing at least 10 miles that day. While that may be quite healthy, when the
weather is 105 degrees that is not a good thing.

Tt costs about a nickel to run an electric bike that distance. If I take
the 4 wheeled vehicle, I burn that much just hitting the starter in gas.
There seems to be a stigmatism against Vehicle that isn't belching fumes out
it's rear end these days.


*** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com ***

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> writes:
> Well, they didn't publish my letter. But they did publish this one:
> http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060428/OP01/604280334/-1/OP

James Lowndes fails to realize "(their) special bike lanes, trails and
other perks that are now funded by the general public" are also available
to him, if he should ever decide to use them.

I sense that many non-cyclists feel excluded, and that results in their
resentment -- they see all these bike facilities, and they believe they
can't use them, themselves. That's unfortunate, but it's not cyclists'
fault that some people, perhaps too arbitrarily, rule themselves off
bicycles. It is /this/ group of people who sets up the "us vs them"
perspective. And it's self-inflicted.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[Wayne Pein]

Tom Keats wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> writes:
>
>>Well, they didn't publish my letter. But they did publish this one:
>>http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060428/OP01/604280334/-1/OP
>
>
> James Lowndes fails to realize "(their) special bike lanes, trails and
> other perks that are now funded by the general public" are also available
> to him, if he should ever decide to use them.
>
> I sense that many non-cyclists feel excluded, and that results in their
> resentment -- they see all these bike facilities, and they believe they
> can't use them, themselves. That's unfortunate, but it's not cyclists'
> fault that some people, perhaps too arbitrarily, rule themselves off
> bicycles. It is /this/ group of people who sets up the "us vs them"
> perspective. And it's self-inflicted.
>
>
> cheers,
> Tom
>

This is a reason to not stripe bike lanes. Why set up resentment and
confusion by purposefully demanding exclusive space? If the bike lane
stripes didn't exist yet the space was the same there would be less
reason for motorists to complain, and functionally, legally, and
socially the road would better for bicyclists.

Bicyclists fire the initial salvo in "us vs them" when they demand
exclusive on-road space.

Wayne

 

[JimmyMac]

Ed,

If you continue to pat yourself on the back, do realize that you run
the risk of a repetitive stress injury.

I have written the editior of magazines and newspapers and have been
published many times. Your criticism of my writing abbility is
obviously unfounded. Could it be that you never get published is
because simply because you don't write nearly well as you think you
do??? Often, my subject matter has been of an insulting and
condescending nature, so you can't very well hide behind that as an
excuse.

Jim McNamara

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
Wayne Pein <[email protected]> writes:

> This is a reason to not stripe bike lanes. Why set up resentment and
> confusion by purposefully demanding exclusive space? If the bike lane
> stripes didn't exist yet the space was the same there would be less
> reason for motorists to complain, and functionally, legally, and
> socially the road would better for bicyclists.
>
> Bicyclists fire the initial salvo in "us vs them" when they demand
> exclusive on-road space.

I once chanced upon an online article -- actually, a reprint
of an article published during the early years of the 20th
century, about how cyclists were being routinely harassed by
automobilists -- throwing stuff at riders, etc. The same
sort of stuff that goes on nowadays with our newfangled
"bicycling facilities".

I wish I bookmarked it.

Anyway, I found it interesting to note how enmity between
drivers and cyclists is so ancient. Maybe by now it's
entrenched as tradition, and we're just stuck with it.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[Edward Dolan]

"JimmyMac" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS!

> Ed,
>
> If you continue to pat yourself on the back, do realize that you run
> the risk of a repetitive stress injury.
>
> I have written the editior of magazines and newspapers and have been
> published many times. Your criticism of my writing abbility is
> obviously unfounded. Could it be that you never get published is
> because simply because you don't write nearly well as you think you
> do??? Often, my subject matter has been of an insulting and
> condescending nature, so you can't very well hide behind that as an
> excuse.

Nope, others clearly just don't like my opinions. But I express them too
forcefully in any event, which only makes matters worse.

It is actually quite easy to get a letter to the editor published in the
newspaper provided you just write pabulum and more or less agree with the
prevailing editorial policy of the paper.

I have found that there is more than enough intelligence to go around in
this country, but what is sorely lacking most of the time is courage. Our
politicians illustrate this phenomenon every day when Congress is in
session.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

 

[Wayne Pein]

Tom Keats wrote:
> I once chanced upon an online article -- actually, a reprint
> of an article published during the early years of the 20th
> century, about how cyclists were being routinely harassed by
> automobilists -- throwing stuff at riders, etc. The same
> sort of stuff that goes on nowadays with our newfangled
> "bicycling facilities".
>
> I wish I bookmarked it.
>
> Anyway, I found it interesting to note how enmity between
> drivers and cyclists is so ancient. Maybe by now it's
> entrenched as tradition, and we're just stuck with it.
>
>

There is a certain amount of enmity between motorists and bicycists, but
the same is true for motorists and other motorists and even bicyclists
and other bicyclists. I believe bicyclists fare best when we "do like
the natives do" and just use the roads without drawing attention to
ourselves or demanding special dispensation. Fly under the radar.

I fully understand Fear From the Rear, but demanding bike lanes which
effectively reduces bicyclist space to the worst part of the road is a
strategy which invokes the Law of Unintended Negative Consequences.

Wayne
Same Roads. Same Rules. Same Rights.

 

[[email protected]]

Ed,


If no one likes you opinions darw the obviouys conclusion and refrain
from offering them.

I wrote and article in opposion to one in Bicycle Guide glorifying the
outrageous antics of a local bicyle messenger. Here are two my two
submissions neither of which can be categorized as pabulum. Bicycle
Guide chose to publish the second one.


ERRANT MESSAGE

Until I read John Mora's article "Spider Jack" in the April issue, I
was never moved to formulate a commentary. I am a Chicago resident,
employed in the downtown area. I routinely encounter bicycle
messengers in my daily commute to and from the work place. Their
antagonistic antics, convey entirely the wrong message to the very
drivers we aspire to enlist cooperation from in courteously sharing the
road. Many of Jack Blackfelt's colleagues flagrantly violate the rules
of the road. It is commonplace to observe a bicycle messenger engaged
in senseless highjinks such as terrorizing pedestrians in a game of
"chicken" played out on the sidewalk or lane splitting against the flow
of traffic during rush hour. I was appalled by the author's cavalier
perspective, in eulogizing the swashbuckling riding style of Spider
Jack. The author's admiration for Jack's skill should have been
tempered with some verbiage explicitly devoted to the inevitable
consequences of putting those skills to the test. Much like a movie
which glamorizes war, this article deprives the target audience of a
peek beyond the hospital walls where glory is confronted by the harsh
reality of carnage.

It is rather out of character for Bicycle Guide to champion the cause
of this breed of two wheeled kamikaze. It is inappropriate for a
cycling advocacy magazine to publish an article which extols the
"virtues" of reckless abandon and endangerment, without so much as a
disclaimer.

Forgive me if I refrain from rendering homage, preferring rather to
trust my own judgment in selecting a personal cult hero to idolize.
The arena of cycledom certainly has far better representatives to
admire and/or emulate. This article was a poignant example of
journalism every bit as irresponsible as the foolhardy riding style it
portrayed. Your readership would have been better served if each of
the pages this article squandered had read THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT
BLANK!


PROFILE OF A NUISANCE

I was stunned by the tone of John Mora's profile of bicycle messenger
Jack Blackfelt, alias "Spider". Regardless of what Mr. Mora would have
the reader believe, "Spider's" brash demeanor is characteristic of the
breed. Skilled or otherwise, this aberrant fringe should be recognized
for what it is, a menace rather than a role model for the cycling
world. One word accurately personifies them --- nuisance! I sincerely
suspect that neither Jack Blackfelt, nor his colleagues, give even a
passing thought to the perils or repercussions of provoking a motorist.
It is not at all unreasonable to assume that, as a direct result of
such provocation, an entirely innocent and unsuspecting cyclist could
be become a victim of an enraged motorist's displaced aggression.

Blinded by the shortsightedness of youth, oblivious to his own
mortality, the bicycle messenger plies his trade in a vacuum, flirting
with death. As a proud member of the messenger corps, he has yet to
comprehend what the word corps becomes by merely appending the letter
E. He hasn't time for introspection. There are too many deliveries to
be made, too many cabbies to challenge, for safety to be a concern or
common sense to prevail. Is it any wonder that this mentality has
prompted enactment of regulatory legislation in response to the
outcries of outraged citizens?

Although I fully understand the use of Bicycle Guide as a platform for
exercising the right of free speech, nevertheless, I think it would
have been prudent for a caveat to have been issued such as ... "do not
try this at home ... Jack Blackfelt is a trained professional, and/or
.... this article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
management".

Jim McNamara

 

[Bob]

Tom Keats wrote:

> James Lowndes fails to realize "(their) special bike lanes, trails and
> other perks that are now funded by the general public" are also available
> to him, if he should ever decide to use them.
>
> I sense that many non-cyclists feel excluded, and that results in their
> resentment -- they see all these bike facilities, and they believe they
> can't use them, themselves. That's unfortunate, but it's not cyclists'
> fault that some people, perhaps too arbitrarily, rule themselves off
> bicycles. It is /this/ group of people who sets up the "us vs them"
> perspective. And it's self-inflicted.

You make an excellent point about presumed exclusion resulting in
resentment, Tom. I don't fully agree with you that the "us vs them"
perspective was initiated by motorists though, at least not as that
perspective applies in this NG. As for that viewpoint out on the
streets, like my mother always said, "I don't care who started it. It
takes two to make a fight and you're *both* in trouble." Smart people,
moms. ;-)

Regards
Bob Hunt

 

[Edward Dolan]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS! NOR DOES HE EVEN QUOTE ANYTHING FROM THE
PREVIOUS MESSAGE, YET THIS IS NOT AN ORIGINAL POST. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW
YOU GET TO BE SO STUPID!

> Ed,
>
>
> If no one likes you opinions darw the obviouys conclusion and refrain
> from offering them.

Nonsense, what I have to say is good for people whether they want to hear it
or not.

> I wrote and article in opposion to one in Bicycle Guide glorifying the
> outrageous antics of a local bicyle messenger. Here are two my two
> submissions neither of which can be categorized as pabulum. Bicycle
> Guide chose to publish the second one.
>
>
> ERRANT MESSAGE
>
> Until I read John Mora's article "Spider Jack" in the April issue, I
> was never moved to formulate a commentary. I am a Chicago resident,
> employed in the downtown area. I routinely encounter bicycle
> messengers in my daily commute to and from the work place. Their
> antagonistic antics, convey entirely the wrong message to the very
> drivers we aspire to enlist cooperation from in courteously sharing the
> road. Many of Jack Blackfelt's colleagues flagrantly violate the rules
> of the road. It is commonplace to observe a bicycle messenger engaged
> in senseless highjinks such as terrorizing pedestrians in a game of
> "chicken" played out on the sidewalk or lane splitting against the flow
> of traffic during rush hour. I was appalled by the author's cavalier
> perspective, in eulogizing the swashbuckling riding style of Spider
> Jack. The author's admiration for Jack's skill should have been
> tempered with some verbiage explicitly devoted to the inevitable
> consequences of putting those skills to the test. Much like a movie
> which glamorizes war, this article deprives the target audience of a
> peek beyond the hospital walls where glory is confronted by the harsh
> reality of carnage.
>
> It is rather out of character for Bicycle Guide to champion the cause
> of this breed of two wheeled kamikaze. It is inappropriate for a
> cycling advocacy magazine to publish an article which extols the
> "virtues" of reckless abandon and endangerment, without so much as a
> disclaimer.
>
> Forgive me if I refrain from rendering homage, preferring rather to
> trust my own judgment in selecting a personal cult hero to idolize.
> The arena of cycledom certainly has far better representatives to
> admire and/or emulate. This article was a poignant example of
> journalism every bit as irresponsible as the foolhardy riding style it
> portrayed. Your readership would have been better served if each of
> the pages this article squandered had read THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT
> BLANK!
>
>
> PROFILE OF A NUISANCE
>
> I was stunned by the tone of John Mora's profile of bicycle messenger
> Jack Blackfelt, alias "Spider". Regardless of what Mr. Mora would have
> the reader believe, "Spider's" brash demeanor is characteristic of the
> breed. Skilled or otherwise, this aberrant fringe should be recognized
> for what it is, a menace rather than a role model for the cycling
> world. One word accurately personifies them --- nuisance! I sincerely
> suspect that neither Jack Blackfelt, nor his colleagues, give even a
> passing thought to the perils or repercussions of provoking a motorist.
> It is not at all unreasonable to assume that, as a direct result of
> such provocation, an entirely innocent and unsuspecting cyclist could
> be become a victim of an enraged motorist's displaced aggression.
>
> Blinded by the shortsightedness of youth, oblivious to his own
> mortality, the bicycle messenger plies his trade in a vacuum, flirting
> with death. As a proud member of the messenger corps, he has yet to
> comprehend what the word corps becomes by merely appending the letter
> E. He hasn't time for introspection. There are too many deliveries to
> be made, too many cabbies to challenge, for safety to be a concern or
> common sense to prevail. Is it any wonder that this mentality has
> prompted enactment of regulatory legislation in response to the
> outcries of outraged citizens?
>
> Although I fully understand the use of Bicycle Guide as a platform for
> exercising the right of free speech, nevertheless, I think it would
> have been prudent for a caveat to have been issued such as ... "do not
> try this at home ... Jack Blackfelt is a trained professional, and/or
> ... this article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
> management".
>
> Jim McNamara

Both versions are well written which just goes to prove that JimmyMac can
write well when he wants to. I actually liked the first version slightly
better. You never want to give even an inch with idiots like the editors of
Bicycling Guide.

As to Bicycle Guide, I gave up on that publication many years ago when they
decided they wanted to get with the young and stupid crowd. You could not
pay me now to read Bicycle Guide. It is an altogether worthless publication
and I would not be caught dead even looking at it. However, it used to be a
great magazine back in the 70's. I especially liked to read Frank Berto's
articles on gearing and deraillers. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

 

[[email protected]]

Edward Dolan wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS! NOR DOES HE EVEN QUOTE ANYTHING FROM THE
> PREVIOUS MESSAGE, YET THIS IS NOT AN ORIGINAL POST. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW
> YOU GET TO BE SO STUPID!
>
> > Ed,
> >
> >
> > If no one likes you opinions darw the obviouys conclusion and refrain
> > from offering them.
>
> Nonsense, what I have to say is good for people whether they want to hear it
> or not.
>
> > I wrote and article in opposion to one in Bicycle Guide glorifying the
> > outrageous antics of a local bicyle messenger. Here are two my two
> > submissions neither of which can be categorized as pabulum. Bicycle
> > Guide chose to publish the second one.
> >
> >
> > ERRANT MESSAGE
> >
> > Until I read John Mora's article "Spider Jack" in the April issue, I
> > was never moved to formulate a commentary. I am a Chicago resident,
> > employed in the downtown area. I routinely encounter bicycle
> > messengers in my daily commute to and from the work place. Their
> > antagonistic antics, convey entirely the wrong message to the very
> > drivers we aspire to enlist cooperation from in courteously sharing the
> > road. Many of Jack Blackfelt's colleagues flagrantly violate the rules
> > of the road. It is commonplace to observe a bicycle messenger engaged
> > in senseless highjinks such as terrorizing pedestrians in a game of
> > "chicken" played out on the sidewalk or lane splitting against the flow
> > of traffic during rush hour. I was appalled by the author's cavalier
> > perspective, in eulogizing the swashbuckling riding style of Spider
> > Jack. The author's admiration for Jack's skill should have been
> > tempered with some verbiage explicitly devoted to the inevitable
> > consequences of putting those skills to the test. Much like a movie
> > which glamorizes war, this article deprives the target audience of a
> > peek beyond the hospital walls where glory is confronted by the harsh
> > reality of carnage.
> >
> > It is rather out of character for Bicycle Guide to champion the cause
> > of this breed of two wheeled kamikaze. It is inappropriate for a
> > cycling advocacy magazine to publish an article which extols the
> > "virtues" of reckless abandon and endangerment, without so much as a
> > disclaimer.
> >
> > Forgive me if I refrain from rendering homage, preferring rather to
> > trust my own judgment in selecting a personal cult hero to idolize.
> > The arena of cycledom certainly has far better representatives to
> > admire and/or emulate. This article was a poignant example of
> > journalism every bit as irresponsible as the foolhardy riding style it
> > portrayed. Your readership would have been better served if each of
> > the pages this article squandered had read THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT
> > BLANK!
> >
> >
> > PROFILE OF A NUISANCE
> >
> > I was stunned by the tone of John Mora's profile of bicycle messenger
> > Jack Blackfelt, alias "Spider". Regardless of what Mr. Mora would have
> > the reader believe, "Spider's" brash demeanor is characteristic of the
> > breed. Skilled or otherwise, this aberrant fringe should be recognized
> > for what it is, a menace rather than a role model for the cycling
> > world. One word accurately personifies them --- nuisance! I sincerely
> > suspect that neither Jack Blackfelt, nor his colleagues, give even a
> > passing thought to the perils or repercussions of provoking a motorist.
> > It is not at all unreasonable to assume that, as a direct result of
> > such provocation, an entirely innocent and unsuspecting cyclist could
> > be become a victim of an enraged motorist's displaced aggression.
> >
> > Blinded by the shortsightedness of youth, oblivious to his own
> > mortality, the bicycle messenger plies his trade in a vacuum, flirting
> > with death. As a proud member of the messenger corps, he has yet to
> > comprehend what the word corps becomes by merely appending the letter
> > E. He hasn't time for introspection. There are too many deliveries to
> > be made, too many cabbies to challenge, for safety to be a concern or
> > common sense to prevail. Is it any wonder that this mentality has
> > prompted enactment of regulatory legislation in response to the
> > outcries of outraged citizens?
> >
> > Although I fully understand the use of Bicycle Guide as a platform for
> > exercising the right of free speech, nevertheless, I think it would
> > have been prudent for a caveat to have been issued such as ... "do not
> > try this at home ... Jack Blackfelt is a trained professional, and/or
> > ... this article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
> > management".
> >
> > Jim McNamara
>
> Both versions are well written which just goes to prove that JimmyMac can
> write well when he wants to. I actually liked the first version slightly
> better. You never want to give even an inch with idiots like the editors of
> Bicycling Guide.

Well, it is about time that you finally admit to agreeing with me that
I write well, in effect refuting your criticisms of the past. Both
examples were submitted to the magazine when it was still a respectable
read. - Jim McNamara

> As to Bicycle Guide, I gave up on that publication many years ago when they
> decided they wanted to get with the young and stupid crowd. You could not
> pay me now to read Bicycle Guide. It is an altogether worthless publication
> and I would not be caught dead even looking at it. However, it used to be a
> great magazine back in the 70's. I especially liked to read Frank Berto's
> articles on gearing and deraillers. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
> aka
> Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota