society is out of control
time to try and bring in the reins

the next generation of teenagers are going to be more dangerous than the generations before
too many parents wait too long to educate their kids
parents wait till their sons and daughters are 15 before they get into the issues of sex, appropriate language, drugs, and learning to drive
our children have been learning about all of these things since we took them home from the hospital
as we instruct through example

as I move about the city I can not believe how parent's drive
with their kids by their side they talk on their cell phones and check their Blackberry
they roll through stop signs... ignoring the stop line and never making a complete stop
they fail to yeild to pedestrians
and of course they pass cyclist too fast and too close
this is no comedy of errors
these are all inappropriate for any driver
yet more dangerous for the young less experienced driver

16 year olds should not drive
(which is a separate issue)

it is against the law to talk on a cell phone without a hands free device in DC
I think that if the police thought that the seat belt campaign was worth enforcing
well
they need to outlaw handhelds
and start enforcing the laws
not a ticket
but ticket and points for a behavior that is clearly reckless driving

the situation of a young driver toying with these tools is beyond me
why?
what could be so important?

okay... I was a teen... I know... it is all so important
but
if it were a simple rule or NO
perhaps a simple rule of NEVER
well
there would be less fender benders
and certainly fewer accidents ending in death

another handheld case involving death

I spat this out fast as work is everywhere hope it makes some sense

oh
don't get me started with the Rap Music and the MTV Video Games!

Vehicular Homicide
Reckless Driving
a death that could have been so easily avoided
another cyclist dead by the hands of an idiot behind the wheel
the story

caution this could be you

and another thing
when you drive...
don't forget how you feel about cars and car drivers when you are on the bike
don't be this guy
don't let your wife be this guy
don't let your kids be this guy
this guy learned a lesson a little too late

text messaging?
what could be so important to this kid at this time?
people need to focus on one task when driving.... and that is driving

CYCLING FORUM POST

images and ideas
not sure where I found that black and white image
the caption said it was at a John Deere something or other in the early 1900s
liked the image
a beautiful picture
a picture that seems to be telling a story
many stories

the john deere logo has always been a good one
for some reason the boy in me is drawn to that green and yellow icon with the graceful deer

here are some john deere gifts if you are not sure what to get me for christmas

images from pittsburgh and the surrounding area

Pittsburgh Children's Museum

cyclicious and their "best bicycle blog of 2005" award

share this with your bicycle blogging friends
certainly there are some local favorites
Joe Foley?
Single Speed Outlaw?
Arliegh?
you name it
they need to be nominated!

the photos
the photos are taken under various circumstances
when the multi shots are taken they are usually after or during an approach which always involves the explaination of my BLOG and a passing of my "blog card"
wonder if anyone ever bothers to take a look at the images
some people may have a greater computer priority than others... like myself
others..... well... may never see the images of themselves

then there may be an alternate situation
I may take some pictures... give the explanation and make the exchange
in that explanation there is talk of a posting of images on the blog
the creation of a montage or a collage
well
what if I take a series of pictures and never get around to creating a pictorial
that person may tune in and not find the image

the photos a few days after the download may get lost in the shuffle
some photos may get lost forever
that is the greatness and the sadness of digital

honestly.....
it is more a matter of disorganization
these shots are take
these shots are downloaded
these shots are manipulated in Photoshop
then
these shots are thrown onto my BLOG
more random stuff tossed out in to cyber space

sorry to repeat myself
but repeating myself is my style

this following message seems important enough to post about again

As many of you already know, Ricardo "Rico" Palacios, a bike messenger at Apple Courier, was critically injured on Thursday, November 3. He has been in intensive care at Washington Hospital Center in a coma since then. He was put on a respirator this past Monday. His situation, frankly, does not look promising.

To add yet another layer of tragedy on top of this, the insurance company that should be paying his medical expenses and disability payments may well deny this claim. The company's position is that there is no way to prove this claim, as Rico is completely incapacitated and unable to communicate the circumstances of the accident. As yet, no eyewitnesses have come forward. Thereis a need to loccate an eyewitness to this accident and do so very soon.

Rico's accident occurred sometime just before 5:00 PM on Thursday, November 3, 2005. He was most likely near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and K Street, NW or somewhere en route to that location from 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in DC. There would have been literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people in that area at that time. Surely at least one must have seen something and would be able to recount the circumstances of this accident for the insurance company.

Libby is turning to you for help. Please ask your friends, co-workers, neighbors, anyone at all that could have been in the area of Rico's accident if they witnessed anything. It should be noted that Rico's mother, an immigrant working as a housekeeper at the Capital Hilton, having to not only suffer the tragedy of possibly losing her only son, but also then be laden with outrageous medical bills.

Contact information is below; she can be reached on the Apple phone numbers 24 hours day.

Elizabeth "Libby" Francis
Customer Relations Manager
Apple Courier, Inc.
Washington, DC
phone: 202-338-0930 toll free: 888-620-3300
fax: 202-338-7600
email: info@applecourierinc.com or libby@applecourierinc.com

I will tell ya...
this incident must ring close to Libby's heart
as she was involved in a serious motorcycle accident some time ago
(do not want to say the years... as I would not to aid in revealing a woman's age)
we can only hope that this situation gets better
insurance?
maybe if this story gets some press there will be more reason for people with power to investigate things

two movies
okay, more than two movies
at my high school reunion there was a guy who told me that he had worked on a soon to be released animated film, Aeon Flux
I do not doubt this as this guy was artistic in high school
in our discussion there was talk of the MTV Aeon Flux
turns out in the classic hollywood fashion it is a loose association

as I do not go to the movies that often...
kids and all
the notion of whehter or not Charlie Theron is cool enough to pull it off may take a while to be determined
as much as I want to dislike her as an actor.... I think she has developed to be diverse l
ike nicole kidman shocking me with Moulin Rouge

then there is a movie I just saw a commercial for First Descents
cool or cheesy?
I still have never seen the feature film version of The Dogtown and Z Boys
loved the documentary
had hesitation about the feature film still yet to be decided

we will see ends up on the shelf from an impulse purchase at Best Buy

Madonna
with fear of what people may think I openly admit that I am loving the new Madonna album
it is odd
I doubt that she can be eternally cool
but then again... Sting and Mick Jagger have seemed to swayed the masses

will it come down to an issue that men are distinguished with wrinkles while women are just old?

cool madonna site

Dirt Rag Forum: Looking for a Fat Chance
what is this... last call?
actually the author is an old friend in San Fran
the brother... well... he was my soccer coach for a year or so
he put up with my shit
he put up with me hacking at his ankles
if anyone knows where they can locate a similar such ride
make contact with them through this posting
anyone who put up with me for no money deserves a hook up

DC Messenger: Jay Moglia Rambling Shadows
December 22nd at DC NINE

some of his words can be found at THE MOBILE CITY

Rico: A DC Bicycle Messenger a victim of "hit and run"
Rico is currently in a coma and not taking visitors
although I did not know Rico this incident effects me and all cyclists
I have been the victim of numerous hit and runs
as well as been given bogus information at the scene
ontop of that....
I have been hit and not gone to the hospital
Rico hit his head... went home... and well... now he is in the ICU

Craig's List Report
Rico Suave Alley Cat
Bike Forum

Rock Creek Park remains Open to Cars
story on WTOP
there was a movement to try and get Rock Creek Park to close to cars during non-Rush Hour periods of the day
honestly, this is an idea that I never supported
the volume of cycling traffic during these periods is not great enough to justify this move
the cars would be forced to clog up other arteries
some of the cars would stay in near by routes
making neighborhoods and less major tributaries of the park be their personal AUTOBAHN

what I would like to see is car drivers to drive in a more civil manner while on Rock Creek Park
well, actually I would like to see cars drive in more civil manner all the time and every where
but right now we are dealing with Rock Creek Park
the roadways of Rock Creek Park are marked for 25MPH speed limits with double yellow lines
the number of near death experiences from cars passing too fast and too close are only trumped by the number of cars that nearly hit me head on as they pass a cyclist traveling in the same direction
if people exhibited a little common sense and a tad bit of common courtesy the world would be a better place
but
as of yet
I have not found a way to inject empathy into the mindless masses

the person who reported this piece on WTOP, Neal Augenstein, was a singer in some MOD bands during the '80's

Plugging the Blog-
it is true... I will shamelessly plug my BLOG
I will SPAM my friends on group emails reminding them to tune into my BLOG
but
at my 20th High School Reunion I had a pocket full of GWADZILLA BLOG CARDS
to which I think I handed out two
both to guys I grew up playing soccer with
both of these guys were once messengers
both of these guys are still cyclists
for some reason I do not see a reason to force my BLOG on anyone and everyone

in a bit of irony I brought up a fellow graduate's "web presence" to another graduate
to which he responded awkwardly
only after speaking without thinking did I realize how awkward I am when someone brings up my blog to someone I am not sure if I want to share it with

it is out there
if they want to see it they just need to GOOGLE me
but
my guess is that there are those who get the BLOG and there are those that just can not be bothered

milestone behind me: my 20th high school reunion
there was extensive build up
there had been months of anticipation
there was some solid preparation
there was also a certain lack of preparation*

relieved
hung over
a little tired
it was a late night
it was an early morning
more tired than hung over

glad I went
glad it is behind me
everything went well, perhaps better than expected
may have escaped without offending anyone
only felt awkward in a few situations
a few awkward situations were avoided
some awkward moments were abandoned with rapid evacuation

was not seeking closure to any relationships
really just spent the evening wandering around
there was no one in particular that I was seeking out
there was no one in particular that I had any great urge to see or catch up with
there may have been a few people that did not show up that would have been nice to see
but
the night moved by rather quickly
there were actually a few people that I waved to or shook hands with...
but never managed to make contact with

if I really needed to catch up with anyone I could use GOOGLE and the telephone rather than a 20th high school reunion

it was great seeing everyone
it was great seeing how people had grown and developed

so many familiar faces
so many unfamiliar names.... until the glance at the name tag
the senior year high school photo on some of the name tags answered many questions
the eyes
a deep stare into any individual's eyes revealed who they are
that is the one thing that never really changes
some lost weight
some gained weight
most everyone had different hair styles than 20 years ago
there were many men like myself wearing the absent of hair style

everyone was friendly
everyone was approachable
there were so many people who I got to speak with for the first time
for many of these people this was more than a high school reunion
many other than myself went to grade school and junior high with each other
groups, friendships, and cliques

there were many admissions of crushes
there were a few people trying to close deals that had never been closed
the classic reunion stuff
neither by me

although I traveled with a camera
there were no pictures taken
in hindsight I wish I had snapped some random photos
not posed smiles and hugs
just random shots around the room
that would have aided to make the memory of the evening less of a blurr

*only 9 of the 435 graduates put personal profiles on the Official Reunion Website
thus forcing so many of us to ask and aswer the question...
"so... what have you been up to since you graduated?"

why those images?
senior yearbook photo
and
me sledding with some friends 20 years ago
the image was on the cover of the Washington Post