Friday, October 29, 2010

Random Info

Once again, Colorado, and specifically Boulder, is burning to the ground. We've had more than our fair share over the last several weeks, but this one seems to be under better control than the last couple we've experienced in the area.

In bicycle news, a four year old child is apparently able to be sued for riding a bicycle on the pavement and striking an elderly woman (who died several months later after surgery on her hip), an NY judge has ruled. What is this world coming to?

On a personal note, I decided to ditch my all day painting class today and instead spent the day pretty much doing pointless, random activities. I have to say, it was awesome (and I even snuck in a nap - which NEVER happens). After a bad review of my last two pieces, I just wasn't ready to face the painting world today.

I think a nice bike ride to enjoy our lovely high 70s weather is in order tomorrow, certainly!

Happy Friday!!

2 comments:

  1. I saw that article about the 4 year old being sued earlier this week - it's just crazy! We definitely have a lawsuit happy society in the U.S. I was watching some show (I think House Hunters International) and a woman from the U.S. was moving to Amsterdam, so it showed everyone riding bicycles, including the realtor showing her houses. Ironically she made the remark that the biking took some getting used to, and that there were accidents between bikes and pedestrians all the time, but everyone just picked themselves up and weren't trying to sue each other. Here, someone on a bike hitting a pedestrian is so rare that everyone goes crazy when it does happen and there's almost always a lawsuit! I saw another story recently about a woman on a trail in Dallas who was wearing headphones and stepped into the path of a cyclist - she also died unfortunately. Now everyone is up in arms over whether bikes should be allowed on the trail, etc. Oddly enough, when cyclists are killed by motor vehicles, it's always labeled an accident and charges are hardly ever filed against the driver, even when they admit that they weren't paying attention!

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  2. So true. I wonder if we'll ever get to a point in which cyclists, or I suppose I should say bike lanes, will be more incorporated into the infrastructure of our cities? I think part of the issue is that we just don't have as many bike riders out on a regular basis as in other countries, so drivers tend not to be as aware of them when they are there.

    I know that riding on a sidewalk isn't a great idea anywhere, but there are parts of our city here that there really is no choice. The drivers of cars are just so highly unaware of anything, including other cars, and the lanes can be so narrow that a car barely fits, that I find myself being forced to choose between the death lane of traffic and the sidewalk where cars are pulling out of parking lots (and, of course, not looking). Not a great choice either way.

    I keep hoping that one day things will change, and I still hold out hope that it will.

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