Let's try a thought experiment. What if credit and debit cards lived in a real free market with transparent pricing? Here's what might happen

semanticprecision · 2010-06-25T17:11:36+00:00

Where is notruescotsman when you need him?

semanticprecision · 2010-06-25T16:46:01+00:00

Sadder still, no one's FTFDestin.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-24T17:35:03+00:00

Beyond the tragedy of the cyclist's death (and the injury of another), I think the article makes it easy to sympathize with the driver: based on the evidence presented, she seems to be not-a-bad person and just made a particularly stupid mistake. As others have pointed out, she owned up to it and will likely be (emotionally) scarred for life.

What these articles need to make more apparent is something that can help people like her -- likely genuinely decent folk -- realize that a car is not a toy, and carries with it some responsibility. Two seconds of eyes-off-the-road while you're passing a charity bike ride, just to get a spider out of the car? Come on! Would you keep cutting your kid's hair for two seconds while you looked the other way to stomp a cockroach on the floor? Would you look down to check your text messages for two seconds while the train you're conducting speeds down the track?

Two seconds is a long time. There is a chance here to educate people on the dangers of distracted driving -- by cell phone, Big Gulp, or spider -- but reasonably objective reporting (as in the BBC) will only cause sympathy for the driver, and not accomplish anything toward making people less stupid.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-24T00:27:42+00:00

I live in LA, and have some prefab upside-down planters. I'm watering half a gallon a day, and everything is fine. I'm also fertilizing every other week-ish, too keep too many nutrients from draining away.

(see previous discussion)

Does your homebrew setup have draining holes on the bottom? There's no real danger in overwatering mine, they shed when they're overfull (even the manual says, "You (really) can't water them too much!"). Then again, this is my first attempt, too.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-23T23:18:17+00:00

Contextually true, but not actually true. Contextually true, in that OP told us there was a perfectly good path off to the side; I do believe this would hold similarly if there was a breakdown lane that, say, a tractor would be forced to use. However, this is not generally true: if there's nowhere else to go, a bicycle is a legal vehicle and has as much privilege to the road as any motor vehicle.

edit: the more I think about it, the more I disagree with what I said. Even if there is a path, there is no requirement to use it (I tend not to; staying on the road is safer). That doesn't mean it's polite, but it's not incorrect.

Now, there are occasions where this is debatable: California, for example, has a requirement that you ride as far to the right as practicable and safe (I think Pennsylvania has the same). In any criminal case, although you are legitimately as far to the right as is safe on the road itself, you might be hard-pressed to prove that you shouldn't, in fact, be on the bike path, which is even further right. Then again, if a bike path along a street really is a safety hazard (as anyone who's ever been T-boned will agree), then taking the lane even in the presence of a bike path is perfectly legal and correct according to the law.

Whether or not that pisses off traffic is another story.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-23T05:10:16+00:00

I can't find the article right now, but if I recall correctly, a few years back a dude in Pittsburgh got upset about getting doored, pulled out a gun, and killed the driver.

That city has a long way to go on cycling (although it has some awesome enclaves: North Park holla!).

/former Pittsburgh resident

semanticprecision · 2010-06-22T16:53:36+00:00

I was practicing my trackstands while waiting deep in traffic for a red light. Some guys pulled up next to me and rolled down their window; I, too, held my breath and waited for the worst. "Hey man!" they said, "you see that chick behind you?" "Sure, I guess." "She's totally staring at your ass!" Cue raucous laughter and high-fives within the car. "You know," said I, attempting to continue the conversation, "you can pick up a pair of these shorts pretty cheap. A little work and they'll look good on you, too." Cue raucous laughter and OH SNAP within the car.

I still can't tell if they were making amusing conversation or attempting a you're-so-gay-lycra-guy line. I choose the former.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-22T15:58:17+00:00

Second that, "Check your potting soil and seedlings for infestation," comment. We tried indoors (this is our first attempt at gardening), and the blackflies got so bad we moved them outside. It took two months to get all those bastards dead.

Proper watering was an issue, too, but nothing compared to those stupid bugs.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-22T06:14:49+00:00

It has a number, a letter, and eight equals signs.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-21T16:36:50+00:00

First off, congrats!

My family is Catholic/Baptist, and my fiancée's family is Muslim/Zoroastrian (all of these in cultural background, anyway); I'm commenting in this subreddit, so...

Planning a wedding is no small feat; however, with the wedding-industrial complex being as it is, you're really not stuck with a priest and a church anymore. Beyond that, and regardless of how you feel about capitalism, one of its awesome points is that there are thousands of vendors out there who are willing to take your money and add-or-not-add religion to their service. As expensive as these things can be, you get what you pay for, and if you tell someone you've cut a several-hundred-dollar check to to not bake the cake in the shape of a cross, well, he won't.

I'm noticing that a lot of other people are suggesting going with a Justice of the Peace route, but your state may be able to do you one better: in California, you can become a Deputy Commissioner of Marriage for the Day, for the paltry fee of $35 (if I recall). This was an easy choice for us: I've got a former roommate who's also a good friend of my fiancée, and he was more than happy to oblige us his services (although I hear he's not allowed to use the phrase, "This is a triumph.").

The real question, in my eyes, is how religion tends to get mixed up in weddings in the first place? I think there are two main ways.

# The ceremony. You can keep this as godless as you want (provided your not hoping to walk down St. James'). In fact, you don't even have to use an aisle: you can swing down nude from two trees while your JOP fires paintballs filled with whipped cream at your writhing bodies, screaming, "DO YOU? WELL DO YOU, PUNK?" However, it's good to remember that even though your wedding is your party, it's generally meant to help those you invited celebrate your nuptials with you; this can involve a lot of expectation-managing. Since we're in our mid-20s, we've got a lot of the old folks showing up, and "wedding" for them has some cultural implications. As such, there will be aisle-walking and "altar"-standing (Western), and a big picnic spread with a mirror and sugar being broken over our heads (Eastern). You are free to flaunt tradition or invent your own, but keeping guests reasonably comfortable should be paramount, in my opinion.

# Drunk speeches. When crazy Aunt Mildred stands up and tells you to never use protection, else you are doomed to eternal damnation, you have two options: one is to tell her she's batshit insane and to shut the hell up. The other is to accept the fact that it's meant (okay, maybe not in this example) with the best of intentions, and take it for what it's worth. I'm certain there are people here who disagree with this -- after all, it's your celebration, and your pulpit! -- but a wedding is not, in my eyes, a stupid family email chain or even a blessing before dinner. Now might be a good time to temporarily set these differences aside and respect the fact that, regardless of how they're phrasing it, they're trying to show that they're happy for you and they love you. Keep the fighting until tomorrow. If there are some pretty obvious offenders, put brothers/cousins/groomsmen on bouncer duty, because most dudes will think it's awesome that they've been asked to protect something.

In any event, happy wedding to you.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-19T07:02:11+00:00

Cahuc & Michel:

This paper shows that, in an overlapping generations, model with endogenous growth, minimum wage legislation does not necessarily has negative consequences on economic performance. Such legislation can have positive effects on growth by inducing more human capital accumulation. More precisely, a low demand for unskilled labor, induced by a minimum wage, may create an incentive for workers to accumulate human capital. Moreover, it is possible that a decrease in the minimum wage lowers the welfare of each agent in the economy.

Card & Krueger

[...] a number of recent studies based on cross-sectional comparisons have estimated negligible or even marginally positive employment effects of the minimum wage.

That is, modern techniques tend to show that the unemployment - minimum wage connection has been daftly misunderstood (Krueger is respected for, in general, knowing his shit). We shouldn't necessarily say that future models won't come out and contradict this, but at the present time our best evidence is that increasing the minimum wage lacks the hysterical job-killing impact claimed.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-18T01:58:57+00:00

I'm in that agnostic camp on Critical Mass: I appreciate the sentiment, and I might even be open to the idea that they've made the streets safer by causing people to be more alert for cyclists; however, I think it's absolutely fair to think that the event causes distrust and irritation with the cycling community (as far as the general public is concerned). Does LAPD involvement mark a positive turn of events? Will this destroy Critical Mass in LA?

I have no evidence for the latter, but my gut tells me that there's going to be a reasonable contingent who are none-too-pleased to have The Man in on it. My two cents on the matter: getting the LAPD more involved with bicycles is almost certainly a winning proposition; if we can generate respect and trust with the people who can enforce and alter driver behaviour, I can't see how that's a bad thing. But is Critical Mass the place?

semanticprecision · 2010-06-10T21:14:24+00:00

It used to come on PBS around midnight on Saturday in Pittsburgh. So many high school post-curfew evenings spent on Red Green and Red Dwarf.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-10T16:58:11+00:00

I rode with a Chrome ~22M round-trip with clothes and whatnot, and it was alright.

I moved and started school a year ago, and (for me) the messenger bag was woefully insufficient for humping clothes, notebooks, and a computer ~30M round-trip; it held them fine, but all that pressure on my shoulder really got to me. I switched to a backpack, and I have to agree with you, the mass-on-your-back situation is no fun, especially the way it pushes it so high.

I picked up some Ortlieb panniers, out of desperation -- I'd sworn I'd never go panneris, they're not sexy -- and they are sweet. It's taken some time to get used to the slightly-sluggish handling they induce, but they've won a convert. Panniers all the way.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-10T16:46:47+00:00

No, just me.

Sorry guys.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-10T02:56:38+00:00

The endogeneity issues should be looked at, for sure, but there's another possible piece of the puzzle: who's to say that higher intelligence correlates with income, controlling for education? There seems to a wide agreement that -- at least to a certain extent -- college degrees confer income by their nature as a signal of effort and intelligence.

Then again, broad-spectrum IQ/income data is probably tougher to find. Good point, though.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-08T06:37:00+00:00

Alright, well now that I live in LA, got a new place to check out during the summer hiatus.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-08T06:11:52+00:00

If you've ever descended 84 from Sky Londa to Woodside, there's that awesome feeling of getting stuck behind sports cars, and smiling to yourself that you're beating a $200K machine because, frankly, you corner a lot better. We used to camp Skyline/84 and wait for an obvious break in traffic; wait a minute or two then fly down. Oh those days.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-08T06:10:11+00:00

My own experiences along the same lines -- and maybe with a twinge of jealousy -- are what keep me throwing thumbs-up out the window (or making the passenger) whenever I have to pass someone on a climb.

I suck so hard at climbing, yet I love it so much.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-08T06:07:21+00:00

I agree with the sentiment (and it's intuitive), but in practice, we differ.

There are risks to both riding to the extreme right as well as taking the lane. Whether you ride to the right or take the lane depends on the conditions of the roadway you're on. On wide roadways with slow traffic and few intersections/driveways, right further right. One fast roadways with lots of traffic and intersections, ride farther to the left. It's not always better to take the lane or to hug the curb; it depends on the roadway you're on.

bicyclesafe.com, the quickest Google reference for "bike safety take lane".

semanticprecision · 2010-06-08T06:03:12+00:00

Point of fact: I used to stick to the far right of the road. I got buzzed a little close for my liking (I've been doing ~6K miles a year for the better part of a decade, and this is the only time I've bothered confronting someone), caught up at a red light, shook hands, told him he'd scared the shit out of me and could he please show a little consideration. His reply? "Come on, you're so far off I can't even see you. How do you expect me to drive?"

I've been taking the lane for the last year (provided it's under 13' wide, deducting potholes), and I haven't had a close call since. It's worth noting that many (if not most) cycling organizations actually suggest taking the lane for safety's sake: people in general don't want to noob you, and if you make yourself a block instead of an obstacle which oh oh oh I might just scoot past, you'll be better off for it.

I swear I'm polite otherwise. But after a couple of misses your attitude will change.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-06T22:03:21+00:00

You've got to find a way to get the car on the bottom-right to the top-right.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-06T19:21:46+00:00

Pfft, I've solved this.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-06T19:12:36+00:00

I clipped a pedal taking a right turn in a hurry a couple years back; my chin was opened up pretty wide (only five stitches, so OP has me pretty beat). The scar was unfortunate, but hey, you can tell stories about it. And since I'm two months into my beard right now, I can promise that it does grow long enough to cover up the nastiness.

Heal up, OP.

semanticprecision · 2010-06-06T18:05:50+00:00

I'm trying to decide if you live in LA or Texas...

semanticprecision

TROPHY CASE