Critical Mass

Things in Australia aren't great with respect to commuting by push-bike. There is mostly very poor design of cycle lanes/paths and they rarely go where you need them to go, or they just stop and your somehow expected to teleport to the next section of bike lane. This is what motivate the Critical Mass rallies at the end of each month.

It's a gathering of cyclists that hope to demonstrate that there are allot of bike riders out there. Also that bike are classified as vehicles and are meant to be on the road, so motorists should respect the presence of cyclists.

That being said though It could be much worse It could be like NY city where cycling in a Critical Mass protest can get you charged by the police ........ Literrally!




Don't get me wrong there are also allot of cyclists doing the wrong thing and using the road poorly. I would say the percentages would be about the same as those for Motorists that don't obey the rules. Really doesn't it then come down to needing better education of cyclists and an attitude change for motorists.

Ask and ye shall Receive

So I got an answer to the question posted yesterday (Thanks Bernie)

Put simply:

In general, "affect" is the verb, and "effect" is the noun - with some qualifications!
e.g.
"affect" - the verb: How will the hot humid weather affect these young plants?
"effect" - the noun: The hot humid weather has a very severe effect on these young plants.

BUT

"effect" can be used as a verb when it means "to bring about".
e.g. The new manager intends to effect some big changes in the office.

I don't think I'm far off using the two words correctly. It may still take some practice and allot of referring back to this post to actually sort out the difference in my head though.

Quickie

So I set up this site to accept posts via email. Should be good and hopefully I will be able to post more.

On a side note, I need the services of a language person (obviously). Affect and effect which to use when. Do you affect an outcome? Or do you effect the outcome? I used different words in the two questions because they sounded right but I'm not sure why these things are so. It is a little confusing and the two are probably used interchangeably by allot of people.

Maybe someone will know and let me know in a comment!!!!!

Cheers

--
"There is always an easy solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong." - H.L. Mencken.

Cargo Bikes

Well I've found some inspiration on "da Interwebs" today. I've been thinking about bikes, what I use them for and what type of bike I should get. It's pretty obvious that the vast magority of my cycling is commuting and transport. Despite the fun I derive from racing and weekend sojourns to the trails around town I really should at least look at tailoring my ride to commuting.

My current bike has done probably about 40 000 km over the last 8-9 years. Its a Specialized FSR (I wouldn't spell it with a z but it is a brand name). It has been an awesome bike. I commute almost daily to work and carry stuff in my crumpler bag (This can get limiting sometimes). It is comfy to ride and fast enough that I can keep up with road bikes if they are not being to serious. I can take dirt tracks and gutters without slowing. I have even entered a number of races in it, never serious, mainly for the challenge. In short I've found it an excellent commuter and a great way to get around cities. However recent advances in bike design and technology and the slow but inevitable decline in the condition of my bike has led me to ponder: What next?

The bike I covert is a Salsa 'Big Mamma'. More efficient suspension design, disc brakes and bigger wheels would make this and even faster commuter and most of all a much faster race bike. Much like my current bike though I face the problem of how to carry all the stuff you need through the day. For example on Mondays and wednesdays I need to Take work clothes, paddling clothes, paddle, food for lunch and after paddling. All of this gets a bit much to fit into my poor little crumpler bag and also can get rather heavy on your shoulder.

What about commuting though wasn't I going to look at commuting options  and bikes that could carry something. OK. A search for Cargo Bikes brought up this neat little article on commuting by bike and the problem with most bikes in Australia being designed for or after racing bikes. It pointed the way to the Surly Big Dummy. This bike instantly spoke to me. It said "load me up and lets go somewhere". This is definitely a commuting bike as well as a touring bike as well as.......sorry getting carried away there. It is  an interesting bike though.

"What was the inspiration" you ask. Well I continued my search for Cargo Bikes and it brought me to this page. http://www.rideyourbike.com/cargo.html a brilliat display of carrying stuff with bikes. I decided my favourite though is this guy towing a boat with his pushie.

I wonder how much I could carry with the Big Dummy??

Settlers of Catan

I have introduced many people in my family to Settlers from Catan. An excellent board game emanating from Germany.  Well It looks like it has finally started t o make it big in the US (See Link below)

Monopoly Killer: Perfect German Board Game Redefines Genre

For those not familiar with the game I definitely recommend checking it out. The Link below will give you all the info you'll ever need on "Settlers"

Catan.de - All news on Catan.de

Cheers

G20 Protests

You may not like the G20 meetings and you may not like capitalism. That's fine your entitled to your opinion. What gets me mad is not that people protest at the G20, as stated your entitled to your opinion and the right to express that opinion. I get mad because there are hipocritical idiots protesting.
Below is a Photo from the Article in Der Speigel magazine about the G20 protests. At first you may see nothing wrong with it. There is however a glaring problem.


Consumers suck. Once again entitled to your opinion. However live up to your ideal. Don't hold up a sign saying consumers suck while wearing mass produced Jacket, Shirt, Jeans, Shoes and probably socks. This idiot really should have a big sign saying "I'm with stupid" and an arrow pointing down!
If this is the quality of protesters that attend these events then it's no wonder that they have totally failed to get there message across.