This is my favourite helmet impact diagram. Yes, it’s old but there’s nothing more recent, and nothing to indicate that conditions have changed to invalidate the results. The source is Dietmar Otte, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Abteilung Verkehrsunfallforschung, Germany. Note that 35% of impacts occur in the chin area. Because I like my chin I ride with a full face helmet. This diagram was cited in the Hurt Report, as well as Proficient Motorcycling by David L Hough.
Without a doubt the “right turner” is the most dangerous situation a motorcyclist faces while riding. Statistics show that more motorcyclists get hurt and killed at intersections by a right turning driver than any other cause. Why do car drivers exclaim “I did not see him/her” when the weather was clear and there were no other cars in the intersection? It is not just motorcyclists in danger, as bicyclists, pedestrians and other vehicles also bear the pain of inattentive drivers. Is it true that these drivers are so lacking in skill, so blatant in their disregard for their fellow humans that they are grasping for any plausible explanation, or is it something else? There is a theory that humans filters out objects that are deemed not dangerous, which leads to the subject of “inattentional blindness”. Maybe these lame explanations from drivers point to a visual impairment that is innate with all human beings.
After the $4B cut, here's what Metrolinx proposes for the TTC: Sheppard East is Ok, a 5 year delay for the rest
Promises are made by the Ontario Provincial government and are quickly broken. This seems to be the way of the Ontario government. Much of this is beyond the control of the average tax payer, until an election looms. Such is life with the TTC’s Transit City Plan. Recently the previously promised funding for Transit City had been cut by $4B by the Ontario provincial government (cut or deferred, the money is unavailable) , from an original $8.2B. That’s a 49% drop. Yesterday Metrolinx released what they propose to do with the scaled down $4.2B budget. The skinny: The Sheppard East LRT is largely intact, all other lines (Scarborough RT, Finch, Eglington) will be delayed 5 years. It’s best to assume that the other 3 lines will not get built, as within 5 years a project can easily lose funding for whatever reason.
Tasty pollen available to all bee friends, from a white tulip
Spring is finally here. I invite all bees to visit my garden for a very tasty good time. There is so much colour in the garden, which washes into the house, giving some rooms a fantastic pink hue. All photos taken today at 14:45.
On the negative side so many people have come down with allergies. Noses and eyes are itchy. People are stuffed up. This is nature’s way of reproducing. Still, what would spring be without renewal, growth and an uplifting shot of colour.
Tactics
Divide the world into first and second tier. The first tier has strict copyright laws, the second don’t care. The First want low prices, the Second are willing to pay higher.
Take orders from the First at cost, learn the process, copy. Overproduce and sell the Second for double or triple the profit. The First becomes a much smaller percentage of the business, so that you can now raise the price to approach the Second.
Major transit upgrades at the Toronto Transit Commission have been rare in the last 20 years, but this is changing. First in the pipe is the Sheppard East Light Rapid Transit line, in Scarborough. At approximately $1.43B CAD it will run 15km east from Don Mills Station to Morningside Ave. The line is scheduled for completion in Fall 2013, ready for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. The project manager in me is trying to keep track of which parts of Sheppard Avenue will be chewed up when and for how long. The short term pain for residents and business owners will be severe. I hope they add bicycle lanes while they are planning.
The year 2009 was marked by significant news coverage of Al Qaeda attacks, soldiers and civilians getting blown up in Iraq and Afghanistan, much stricter airport security and, here in Canada, increased wariness of those from the Middle East. In the middle of this morass was the news agency Al Jazeera. Most people here in Canada actually did not recognize the agency until tapes from Osama Bin Laden were released only to Al Jazeera.
The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Logo. RSS is so useful but abused.
Should not an internet feature with the label “Really Simple” in its name, be in fact really simple? After working with Really Simple Syndication (RSS), unfortunately this is not or is no longer true. In fact wider variations of this very useful tool threaten to reduce the effectiveness of this useful tool.
A +4C snowfall followed by a -4C overnight freeze turns heavy, wet snow into ice that has the consistency of concrete.
We are from Toronto, Canada, and most of Canada regularly gets snow during the winter. As the snow falls from the sky it accumulates. This accumulation must be removed from the streets, sidewalks and private driveways in order for cars to safely drive on the street and for people to be able to safely walk on the sidewalk. There are times when you can leave the snow on your driveway and clear it away some time later, but in some specific conditions, waiting even 6 hours can make the job multiple times more difficult. These conditions include above freezing temperatures while the snow falls, followed by a quick below 0C freeze overnight, turning wet, heavy snow into a large block of ice.
