tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30685812949332712152024-03-13T00:41:26.623-04:00Web EchoesWeb Echoes is the product of my reading on the web. I post links and comment on items of interest to me. Generally the topics will be related to environmentalism, environmental technologies, environmentally friendly transportation, bicycling, but it may cover anything else that strikes my fancy, such as the occasional quiz or really cool web game.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935443440111169497noreply@blogger.comBlogger361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068581294933271215.post-11316200609159306202013-06-13T10:25:00.000-04:002013-06-13T10:25:17.620-04:00Scofflaw Professional DriversIt's a rare occassion that I need to ride my bicycle on one of Providence's primary traffic corridors during peak hours, but on June 13, I needed to visit DPW during business hours. At approximately 7:30AM, I rode down one of the few bike lanes in the city, on a street that at high traffic times, is useful to have, since traffic moves well above the 35 mph speed limit of the roadway in both lanes.<br />
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These lanes are a perennial source of complaints to RIDOT for the condition of the lanes. They're generally very debris strewn, with sand, rocks, and larger debris that has escaped from the heavy trucks that frequent this corridor along the working waterfront of the city. The lanes, as usual were generally full of sand, rendering most of their width challenging to ride in and leaving the preferred position very close to the lane marking line.</div>
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A second common complaint is that trucks waiting to enter the yards of the nearby industries park and idle in the bike lane, forcing riders out into the fast moving traffic. The only redeeming condition is that traffic is regulated by lights, so moves in high speed platoons, leaving gaps that can be exploited, but still endangering every rider on this lane.</div>
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And lest anyone think that I'm the only rider, given that there A) complaints, B) self-identified riders who indicate this as their daily commuting route to work and C) I saw 3 other people on bikes on the south bound side during my trip.</div>
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Each of the Drivers of these trucks is a Certified Professional, required to got through additional examination and held to a higher standard of operation, due to the nature of their work, however, apparently, getting breakfast is more important than parking legally and creating a situation that can endanger another person's safety. Below are some pictures of 4 trucks, 2 parked northbound, 2 parked southbound. Based on the lack of drivers in 3 of the trucks, and their adjacency to the Seaplane Diner, they were patronizing the restaurant. The 4th truck was not present when I returned north and the presence of the driver indicates to me that he was idling waiting for instructions to deliver his load to a construction site.</div>
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Apologies for the sepia tone photos below, I tried to make sure to get operating numbers for all of the trucks and operating company names. From what I can see, all of the trucks are operating under an USDOT authorization granted to J.P. Noonan, USDOT #111448. Only 2 of the trucks had identifying markings to indicate the operating company, those are Medas Trucking of Brockton, MA and Cape Code Cartage of West Bridgewater, MA. I'll be looking into how to send in complaints for parking in a no-parking zone and parking on a sidewalk. Both of which carry $85 fines if a police officer or parking enforcement officer can be found to write the citation.<br />
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I've filed a complaint with USDOT against JP Noonan. Complaint Number: <strong style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, tahoma, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov/PrintMe.aspx?http://152.122.44.136/ReviewPage.asp?cID=100069396&complaint_id=5DE2BD6042D4C497DE0BF222E75545E0&uID=1&module=Violation&uRole=&pm=Y&sess=48413255&public=open">100069396</a></strong><br />
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<span style="text-align:left">On my way south, I saw:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtC9ezhGyw36clvifPCvtgjj4-UoaVdGThyphenhyphengbpkBKEu5zjbEnzKu3XZsfhMS0oqJzrKgYoNgcoilNJaJgixEIM-aKnJ25GplI1EE2VxkHm2yD1p4PD8vbJzEJJ85qCRbv76rSewPNS2o/s1600/IMG_20130613_073455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtC9ezhGyw36clvifPCvtgjj4-UoaVdGThyphenhyphengbpkBKEu5zjbEnzKu3XZsfhMS0oqJzrKgYoNgcoilNJaJgixEIM-aKnJ25GplI1EE2VxkHm2yD1p4PD8vbJzEJJ85qCRbv76rSewPNS2o/s320/IMG_20130613_073455.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northbound side of Allens Ave<br />
precast road base waiting for delivery, Driver was<br />
in this vehicle, apparently waiting for call up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEOZIGMmbTwS4mwmnjmVrX9qdJIuywzFsAGCnaFJVIGO8saRZvWTHvUcAbZMZB8fonYLXRsIKnguPJBLhL92pFtvreoUhudFlIytTRTZneoIlX5N1R43TMKSsIGL4sZO1qCvO4-ve8Ho/s1600/IMG_20130613_073556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEOZIGMmbTwS4mwmnjmVrX9qdJIuywzFsAGCnaFJVIGO8saRZvWTHvUcAbZMZB8fonYLXRsIKnguPJBLhL92pFtvreoUhudFlIytTRTZneoIlX5N1R43TMKSsIGL4sZO1qCvO4-ve8Ho/s320/IMG_20130613_073556.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northbound Allens Ave, Precast concrete structure</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
As I continued further south:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNSl6a87f4oIDwvF81C97ErJbjpZFHuSR1t4UoEK-2gYoVbJ2Dl9cD5eDZrjgXNSOkzCRWNhaO2C0_BThystibthSGiPUCTtKUCLUtgSyVb7rkLwck4MeOQUKo-y8IR_r6Z7qbdXgAxQ/s1600/IMG_20130613_073551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNSl6a87f4oIDwvF81C97ErJbjpZFHuSR1t4UoEK-2gYoVbJ2Dl9cD5eDZrjgXNSOkzCRWNhaO2C0_BThystibthSGiPUCTtKUCLUtgSyVb7rkLwck4MeOQUKo-y8IR_r6Z7qbdXgAxQ/s320/IMG_20130613_073551.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never mind the bike lane, just create a hazard, put a sign in it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcENyUvLZbC0ukrGlpfQGRThVuhhWwd6tqfki8HsWCs2UgW0Tc8hma5QaKLwmrR9x55XwRz8cISkaJb1QrDXbCbkSGjtHE8OFB9ud0AHJhnDqwzLUxc6m9hauMew1WpzwN9QB99560UV0/s1600/IMG_20130613_073611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcENyUvLZbC0ukrGlpfQGRThVuhhWwd6tqfki8HsWCs2UgW0Tc8hma5QaKLwmrR9x55XwRz8cISkaJb1QrDXbCbkSGjtHE8OFB9ud0AHJhnDqwzLUxc6m9hauMew1WpzwN9QB99560UV0/s320/IMG_20130613_073611.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of the norhernost of 2 trucks,<br />
Southbound side of Allens Ave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0zb5kE5v5TssvnC6ma_bWU7ELgMWI6iyTd0ErHUsebMiWDwilN3aQseRr9MFUZSBDB8MjO4G1ieKscS7WkmvwmempbY1K_3CIPSyvq2GNYmiNOhXyyTzghogauYC3skAh9UgjB4GEf0/s1600/IMG_20130613_073649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0zb5kE5v5TssvnC6ma_bWU7ELgMWI6iyTd0ErHUsebMiWDwilN3aQseRr9MFUZSBDB8MjO4G1ieKscS7WkmvwmempbY1K_3CIPSyvq2GNYmiNOhXyyTzghogauYC3skAh9UgjB4GEf0/s320/IMG_20130613_073649.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Generous, wide bike lane, wide enough for a trailer-truck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFFkBH8XjOCPs6M4tFQaujAXrDqd60TQYnMX9YIwgnknnnolB2IxnH2xV7ebVFcZER_rWBeZEdZsaeUSQOpiRfF3u5jyIvaoIIx7zH0v1S5xw8SJVBV3Um_61qHQLZnu94twrXjC4UQE/s1600/IMG_20130613_073638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFFkBH8XjOCPs6M4tFQaujAXrDqd60TQYnMX9YIwgnknnnolB2IxnH2xV7ebVFcZER_rWBeZEdZsaeUSQOpiRfF3u5jyIvaoIIx7zH0v1S5xw8SJVBV3Um_61qHQLZnu94twrXjC4UQE/s320/IMG_20130613_073638.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Bound Allens Ave @ Seaplane Diner,<br />
Medas Truck parked on northbound side. Cars parked<br />
in the parking lane, which is apparently also a bus stop <br />
(usually also a no parking zone).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDA4A2wTAS6xo364phkE4qMjZ8DHVwyh80j716IdaWMG7VkZsJjKIOzNm_H2eGnPDXSwJDyjhvZv6OWsTedhyphenhyphenlzIp25ZJNbvPbeKZDCWu83G7YKQDgTzQcfSp2vdTbf_KtvWfKHE2oLPg/s1600/IMG_20130613_075259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDA4A2wTAS6xo364phkE4qMjZ8DHVwyh80j716IdaWMG7VkZsJjKIOzNm_H2eGnPDXSwJDyjhvZv6OWsTedhyphenhyphenlzIp25ZJNbvPbeKZDCWu83G7YKQDgTzQcfSp2vdTbf_KtvWfKHE2oLPg/s320/IMG_20130613_075259.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parking in the bike lane and on the sidewalk in a No Parking Zone<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
On my way north, taking the time to get<br />
ID information from the trucks that<br />
remained<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaTWvn2XQyAiC49NOXR4ZTqZVPdVEfWYqFfGzs009LyIQUBfAul7kAFlqeUn9kBJdLxCA35ajOGS2zPqE-D85pBqTTbIoiFIRlsFLlepH14utn7yi9pXaBUDR03BOpToFvpE7V4-0J5w/s1600/IMG_20130613_075337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaTWvn2XQyAiC49NOXR4ZTqZVPdVEfWYqFfGzs009LyIQUBfAul7kAFlqeUn9kBJdLxCA35ajOGS2zPqE-D85pBqTTbIoiFIRlsFLlepH14utn7yi9pXaBUDR03BOpToFvpE7V4-0J5w/s320/IMG_20130613_075337.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The truck parked on Allens Northbound ID</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbifWZJL5tAtzmV8vDs2lWUIAeKbdvBPigCJpqhKQTJFAkSbuGr9av9zz8OlzsmH5Psv2kFt2m7b6aaoQpSZTy0wUqqfpk5GET4b89HYnQQD0_Vta_VbmSLdlq5hrKU8aCu3mb3bwK8bs/s1600/IMG_20130613_075341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbifWZJL5tAtzmV8vDs2lWUIAeKbdvBPigCJpqhKQTJFAkSbuGr9av9zz8OlzsmH5Psv2kFt2m7b6aaoQpSZTy0wUqqfpk5GET4b89HYnQQD0_Vta_VbmSLdlq5hrKU8aCu3mb3bwK8bs/s320/IMG_20130613_075341.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the US DOT Information for Medas Trucking #3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomYntHRX60ZnDzHrINYHClPdOWALChhi6fex3h_Nib4gjWgbVBf4zOZONm10aoFblQXc7N91HXr7x4LMlt-HCW_d96zp472qh9kD2jRz4X2T9ciynr5_gMTyW2MBB1d6-_AU17YanEbY/s1600/IMG_20130613_075419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomYntHRX60ZnDzHrINYHClPdOWALChhi6fex3h_Nib4gjWgbVBf4zOZONm10aoFblQXc7N91HXr7x4LMlt-HCW_d96zp472qh9kD2jRz4X2T9ciynr5_gMTyW2MBB1d6-_AU17YanEbY/s320/IMG_20130613_075419.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Furthest South truck, southbound side of Allens Ave.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kSAcHsWOy7KnoF45-MTTrOEDCT0LoqOPLSFSvkesbkNjvMFspuTeI84r7_WXLNCBEXN5UwvHZVc6uOglKnPlt3zaIu4Mst1nifUC9fFJLwYVDUoJzrZWk6b2DV2N0hBtb0hDOV9LMYc/s1600/IMG_20130613_075440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kSAcHsWOy7KnoF45-MTTrOEDCT0LoqOPLSFSvkesbkNjvMFspuTeI84r7_WXLNCBEXN5UwvHZVc6uOglKnPlt3zaIu4Mst1nifUC9fFJLwYVDUoJzrZWk6b2DV2N0hBtb0hDOV9LMYc/s320/IMG_20130613_075440.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both Trucks, Southbound side of Allens Ave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzojUQ5TISHhMGhv4SQC5kcfrV6dFimZGFMtjDa8eLXzaN6U11CB1fw-41zZZ2FWAY9lWB_Z6HfHPNvXS9EDy8DWh9oyqp69_aIqfAglMUlK8gOkgwyFM8h24MRftDDLZNvEOvR6Vqrxc/s1600/IMG_20130613_075503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzojUQ5TISHhMGhv4SQC5kcfrV6dFimZGFMtjDa8eLXzaN6U11CB1fw-41zZZ2FWAY9lWB_Z6HfHPNvXS9EDy8DWh9oyqp69_aIqfAglMUlK8gOkgwyFM8h24MRftDDLZNvEOvR6Vqrxc/s320/IMG_20130613_075503.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northernmost Truck on Southbound Allens Ave.<br />
No trucking company, but USDOT information</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In a post on March 11, 2013 in Atlantic Cities, a collection of humorous descriptions of several states are on offer. The collection tries to apply a stereotype of the type of people who live in each state. Which of course is ludicrous and useless given the variety of people living anywhere, but it is amusing none-the-less.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/02/these-scary-maps-explain-what-sea-level-rise-will-mean-boston/4591/">These Scary Maps Explain What Sea Level Rise Will Mean in Boston - Neighborhoods - The Atlantic Cities</a>: <br />
<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Ch5MEJk5ZCQ?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
More seriously, Leo Babauta gives yet another set of suggestions on how to form new habits and get over being afraid of ourselves by <a href="http://zenhabits.net/discomfort/">overcoming our discomfort</a>s that hold us back. As can be expected, the answer is to do overcome them gradually and embrace the discomfort as a learning experience, but don't make it self-torture.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When people are stressed, they often turn to cigarettes, food, shopping, alcohol, drugs … anything to get rid of the disomfort of the thing that’s stressing them out. And yet, if you take a deeper look at the stress, it’s really an unfounded fear that’s causing it (usually the fear that we’re not good enough), and if we examined it and gave it some light of day, it would start to go away.</blockquote>
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<br />
Really, 15-30 seconds of all way stop a few times a day is going to completely destroy the traffic grid?<br />
<br />
Apropos of this conversation, today's <a href="http://bikeyface.com/2013/01/18/a-walking-city/">Bikeyface: A Walking City.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
My personal favorite is #1 - "Imagine willpower doesn't exist" and #7 "Information leads to action"<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="421" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/6401325" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="512"> </iframe> <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/captology/stanford-6401325" target="_blank" title="Top 10 Mistakes in Behavior Change">Top 10 Mistakes in Behavior Change</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/captology" target="_blank">Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford</a></strong> </div>
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<br />
<br />
After having had it sit in my "Must Read" list for nearly four weeks, I devoted the time to read and appreciate "<a href="http://pathlesspedaled.com/2010/11/traveling-without-moving/">Travelling without Moving</a>" from <a href="http://pathlesspedaled.com/">The Path Less Pedaled</a>. I was immediately reminded of what I thought was a set of notes kicking around in a notebook, or as a draft on this blog. If there are any notes, I've misplaced them, and the draft consisted of a title and a link to a web comic.<br />
<br />
On my second read, I'm reminded of many stories from prior journeys that illustrate the points Russ is making, and must remind myself that this isn't the story of those trips, but an attempt to understand why travel can be the most rewarding time spent alone, in random encounters and with the best friends in the world. More importantly, its an attempt to find the magic formula of how to experience the world through travelers shoes every day. <br />
<br />
I believe the answer lies in not succumbing to the familiar, avoiding the ease of nesting in front of the same entertainments. The answer must include some time for nesting, to recharge and be comforted, and realizing when the recharge is complete, that its time to take action.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_familiar.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="When I say we should do something sometime, I'm secretly hoping you'll say 'Why not now?'" border="0" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_familiar.png" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 600px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://xkcd.com/187/">xkcd #187 The Familiar</a> (<span style="text-align: left;">The comic linked above could also easily be interpreted as a commentary on many residents of Rhode Island's attitude at traveling more than a few minutes drive from home.</span>)<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The action doesn't need to be profound, walking a different way home may be all that life allows. Or it can simply be the hunt, scanning the paper for a show, special dinner, anything to throw off the torpor that remaining static engenders. Being a traveler in one's own hometown can be uniquely satisfying.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">In some ways, it feels like an attempt to collect all of the achievements and unlocks. Sunrise at 5AM, mountaintop sunrise, glacier hike, open ocean kayaking, book reading by author, 43 mph without pedaling, hitting 30 mph while pedaling, waiting out a rainstorm in a Hindu temple, spending the night with other travelers in a crowded bar after a major tragedy. Some are distinctly individual experiences(okay, my sample list skews heavily that way), others come from joining in community with other people, but all require being aware and open to the world, some require a certain amount of planning, but some of the best come from random happenstance and initiate encounters that can't be contrived.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.8em;">
Experts often suggest that crime resembles an epidemic. But what kind? Karl Smith, a professor of public economics and government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, has a good <a href="http://modeledbehavior.com/2012/01/08/on-lead/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">rule of thumb for categorizing epidemics</a>: If it spreads along lines of communication, he says, the cause is information. Think Bieber Fever. If it travels along major transportation routes, the cause is microbial. Think influenza. If it spreads out like a fan, the cause is an insect. Think malaria. But if it's everywhere, all at once—as both the rise of crime in the '60s and '70s and the fall of crime in the '90s seemed to be—the cause is a molecule.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span>
<br />
A molecule? That sounds crazy. What molecule could be responsible for a steep and sudden decline in violent crime?
<br />
Well, here's one possibility: Pb(CH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>4</sub>.<br />
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
Oh, and its good to be back, look for more content coming soon. I've made a decision to use this channel as my primary means of sharing things I like, want to comment on, and am entertained by. Hopefully feeding all of that to the twitters, Facebooks, and Google +'s will allow me to focus on what I want to be doing for a wider audience that facebook.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
Words have power to convey a story, emotion, build empathy, instill confidence and are the only way that we have to communicate how ever poorly through an imprecise medium. And yet, we can still listen to someone else's story and understand something, about the person telling, about the world. All in the careful choice, clever ordering and timely delivery. I'll never be anyone's Point B, in the sense that Sarah Kay states, but I can be that point for anyone who asks.<br />
<br />
<br />
<object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/SarahKay_2011-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/SarahKay-2011.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=1100&lang=eng&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter;year=2011;theme=spectacular_performance;theme=master_storytellers;theme=words_about_words;theme=ted_under_30;theme=a_taste_of_ted2011;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2011;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/SarahKay_2011-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/SarahKay-2011.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=1100&lang=eng&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter;year=2011;theme=spectacular_performance;theme=master_storytellers;theme=words_about_words;theme=ted_under_30;theme=a_taste_of_ted2011;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2011;"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
</div><div>The video below reminded me of that time, not least as I consider how I can free up my time and energy consuming "day job" to be able to defiantly charge into the field(s) I want to tackle armed with nothing but audacity, and delusion as Tara Hunt puts it in the TEDx Concordia presentation embedded below</div><div><br />
Its easy to be comfortable in a job, showing up, working, earning a paycheck, take the easy road of not going "all-in". It's hard to actually be happy with who you are, what you are your doing and feeling like what you do matters, not only to yourself, but to the world. To those who do, my congratulations and thanks.</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zykK0oUS8aw?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
Towards the end of the article, Mr. Barnes has this to say:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<blockquote>Cars and drivers, sad to say, don’t function in a free market world. Both are highly regulated, sometimes for good, sometimes not. If the law of supply and demand were operative, we’d see a smarter approach to improving transportation in America.</blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The supply of cars would create a demand for more roads and bridges to accommodate them, just as food lines outside a grocery store create demand for more grocery stores....</span></span></blockquote><br />
<br />
Apparently he hasn't seen the research indicating that increasing road capacity only temporarily reduces congestion. By this supply and demand interpretation and voice he apparently has no problem with paving over the world so that there is more space to operate those cars --which is only possible outside of built cities, therefore necessitating more construction in a way to allow room for cars that requires cars to successfully operate. Oh, and apparently limitless supplies of money to build and maintain those miles of highway.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
I wonder how many drivers in Rhode Island are aware that it is illegal to send, read or write text messages while driving. How many police officers take it seriously themselves to enforce the law every time they see it violated? According to a recent <a href="http://newsblog.projo.com/2011/02/ri-police-185-drivers-for-text.html">AP story</a>, 185 tickets for texting while driving were issued in the first year that the law was in effect. I wonder how many actually paid the $85 fine, or went to traffic court and had the infraction dropped. 11 towns had no citations, and the highest in a single town was JOhnston at 11. The dollar figures given in the article, seem to indicate that the average fine is under $60. So far as I know, no one has been killed or injured directly because of texting in that year, but I'm certainly not an expert.<br />
<br />
The following 10-minute PSA video is quite moving.<br />
<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DebhWD6ljZs?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DebhWD6ljZs?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwdill/3561323670/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="frostucopia by optimal tweezers, on Flickr"><img alt="frostucopia" height="150" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3561323670_172698cebf.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwdill/">optimal tweezers</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><strong class="username" style="color: #222222; display: block; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 13px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">A humorous skit focusing on the many everyday technologies (and language) that have names based on fruit and other grocers products. I think after 3 views I've finally picked up on all of the in-jokes.</span></strong></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kAG39jKi0lI" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
Oh, and if you don't get the joke about Orange, it's the name of a wireless service provider in the UK.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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Much as I dislike how little I write while simultaneously not being able to force myself to sit down and write daily, I love taking on small writing challenges. Last year I attempted my first 6-word story to describe a weeklong outdoor leadership class as part of a talent night. Wrestling that number of words to evoke emotion and communicate a story is quite a challenge, even with my tendency to mostly objective brevity.<br />
<br />
While I'm not terribly interested in winning the prize, some retweets were going around today for a contest to write a 4 or 5 sentence story of bonking. For the non-bicycling readers - a bonk or bonking is used to describe what happens when a rider loses motivation and strength, frequently stepping off the bike because they can't go on due to poor food intake while riding. (and now you see what we need a term to cover this)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6-EsWGydUnUWN-TGGHMGO1xdZCJ2TOUzZcXJPlRlzU1_AFZpyVRZUlDwfrMDAA7D5ZdxH5TxreRWHvhyphenhyphenvU5DIjORU1xky9fBqmkD8i1Tijz97o2LciBOGP0wOBJ415AbgcuPAuhHVZU/s1600/P1010616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6-EsWGydUnUWN-TGGHMGO1xdZCJ2TOUzZcXJPlRlzU1_AFZpyVRZUlDwfrMDAA7D5ZdxH5TxreRWHvhyphenhyphenvU5DIjORU1xky9fBqmkD8i1Tijz97o2LciBOGP0wOBJ415AbgcuPAuhHVZU/s200/P1010616.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheery Sight, N. Main Street, Providence</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I don't want to call it a commute, as that implies a chore that one does because it is required to complete the obligation of going or coming from work. Rather call it a joyous experience riding a bicycle that happened to have my work place as its destination.<br />
<br />
I had the joy of handling the bicycle on slushy streets that had been plowed or driven before I transited them, though this pleasure can pale quickly after a few blocks as the hands tire from keeping the wheels under me and the body warms.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qlenAo7BINQzN5klnhzOVh-mxcR-7w9ksYHoTQw9lErRtnygb9Pi7l8ZPt-xcMEaMnOxomHqCGzkThIW0xahsUONdRb_Atme3Uo1jETJwi-s_8u-qDNyJKv9vQspX76WiJXKZytmcbs/s1600/P1010620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qlenAo7BINQzN5klnhzOVh-mxcR-7w9ksYHoTQw9lErRtnygb9Pi7l8ZPt-xcMEaMnOxomHqCGzkThIW0xahsUONdRb_Atme3Uo1jETJwi-s_8u-qDNyJKv9vQspX76WiJXKZytmcbs/s200/P1010620.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Tracks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I had the first experience of making first tracks on several side streets near my home on a bicycle path and the unplowed office parking lot. The crunch of the snow and the sure footing it offered engendered the feeling of exploration in my neighborhood despite its daily familiarity. At the office, the crunch of snow, and the unsullied expanse of white pulled at me such that I took a couple of circuits of the front parking lot just to continue the thrill of riding through accumulation of fluffy, uncrushed snow and leave my ephemeral mark.<br />
<br />
Along the way, I also had the exhilaration of being not entirely under control as the bike slid faster than the wheels were turning on a well traveled road and somewhat cleared road resulting in a slippery surface. It was almost skiing, while balancing on two small points with naught but balance and precession to keep upright.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75_aKGI1ySSNtzcu33mVBW9iuzTl4LqFi8cKgh1Aq5VkbGdlLovWZiQvCFdDGkRy8u152uYlY-yUjFzelIyeLOtGq04QkJ1kDg4Xg3obbPxCfq9bLeeQgaEoP3NfOPfV8gSh0Yt-dtyA/s1600/P1010625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75_aKGI1ySSNtzcu33mVBW9iuzTl4LqFi8cKgh1Aq5VkbGdlLovWZiQvCFdDGkRy8u152uYlY-yUjFzelIyeLOtGq04QkJ1kDg4Xg3obbPxCfq9bLeeQgaEoP3NfOPfV8gSh0Yt-dtyA/s200/P1010625.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow Accumulation through helmet holes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was hard not to uselessly gloat over coworkers that I had such a fun trip to the office when they were arriving to work disgusted, annoyed and late.<br />
<br />
And while the weather had warmed, and the rain was falling steadily, even the trip home was not disheartening. Arriving home mostly dry, thoroughly pleased to have completed a new challenge in choosing not to use a car on a daily basis, and preferring the bicycle to transit.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
One of the places we had the great fortune to visit was Russia, and specifically, as related to this web echo, the city of Moscow's subway system. Unfortunately, I just checked my photo archive, and I don't have a single photo of any of the fantastic stations. The only notes I can dig up are the travelogue that I wrote in June 2001, "<a href="http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/a4af/#TL">Underground Touring</a>." (Please excuse the formating, the Virtual Tourist website has apparently changed their rendering language since it was written. OOh, and a factual error about a station name Mosokovskaya should be Mayakovskaya)<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://wikimapia.org/p/00/01/11/51/03_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://wikimapia.org/p/00/01/11/51/03_big.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>What brought this on was the article <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406132.html">"In Moscow, escalators to carry the city"</a> in the Washington Post from December 14th which discusses the escalators used in that subway system and their remarkable uptime and service load. I'd suspect the WashPo included this given the recent coverage of the failings of the Washington DC Metro System's escalators. (<90% reliability I believe I read).<br />
<br />
One of the the things that isn't explicitly called out, and which we commented on while there was the incredible speed at which the Moscow Metro escalators moved. No dawdling in the way on these babies, easily moving twice the speed of any such device in the USA. And while we were there, moving around, not a single person stumbled, fell or otherwise had a mishap to interrupt the quick flow of people on and off the moving steps, which were used, as far as we could see by people of all ages.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
All of which, is interesting, to a certain set of people, what really struck home for me today in the latest Sea of Meme's <a href="http://www.sea-of-memes.com/LetsCode6/LetsCode6.html">Let's Code #6</a>, in which one paragraph gave me a very vivid reminder to a computer game I played in the early 1990s.<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I have a number of reservations with this approach. First, it's not very user friendly. People need to know how to get from one place to another. They need to give each other directions. And they need to be able to form a mental map of the place. Saying "start in the space station, go out the airlock and you'll be in this shopping mall, then exit the mall and you'll be in a jungle with dinosaurs, then jump into the volcano and you'll be at my place", probably won't work well.</span></blockquote>From late 1990 through 1993, I played <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LPMud">LPMuds</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUSH">MUSHes </a>and MUSEs, and eventually collaborated with some good friends to build our own world. The description above fits many of the adhoc, player built worlds that were around and dedicated to a particular theme (Pern, Dune, Star Trek). <br />
<br />
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<br />
Much more vividly, it recalled my favorite LPMud, whose name I can't recall that I played in 1991 (and I think was served out of Los Alamos National Labs). There was no purpose to the game aside from being able to run around, hack and slash in environments created by other people with other players present, the real fore-runners of todays MMORPG games. The game had similar elements as the quote above, you could go to the Brady Bunch area, and kill Alice to retrieve Sam the Butcher's cleaver, one of the best weapons for low level characters. You could then wander through about 20 rooms with at least 3 different themes to get to an enclave of actors and actresses to beat up. I remember that Keifer Sutherland was one of the tougher ones in that zone.<br />
<br />
In many ways I miss those days, especially the creativity of building and programming the world for other people to enjoy and play in. As a privileged user, you could create objects, attach descriptions to them, and by putting the right text in the right places, create ambiance through words. Want that ball you just picked up to convey something more than just being a ball? Simple, set the get property to tell the player "You grasp the ball and are suprised by its unexpected weight before putting it in your bag". Want every one else to know that the person just picked up the ball, set a different property to send the text to everyone in the same location "<Player> strains to pick up the ball before putting it in their pocket". The programming could get a lot more complicated. On the project my friends and I worked on, we had a working sustenance, economy and combat systems all built using the in-game programming language.<br />
<br />
Thanks for this walk through fuzzy memory lane with me...8) And ya know, if you take out the space station, there are elements of World of Warcrat that pretty similar as the authors paid homage to SciFi and Fantasy worlds that had come before them.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div class="tweet-row" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="tweet-user-block" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="tweet-user-block-name" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 36px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 2px;"><blockquote style="color: #3d1957;"><a class="tweet-user-block-screen-name user-profile-link" data-user-id="7861312" href="http://twitter.com/#!/feliciaday" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #363636; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Felicia Day">@feliciaday</a><span class="tweet-user-block-full-name" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Felicia Day</span>The patience it took! RT: @<a class=" twitter-atreply" data-screen-name="brainpicker" href="http://twitter.com/brainpicker" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #363636; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">brainpicker</a>Insert Coin – cleverest stop-motion I've seen in a while, from Denmark</blockquote></div></div></div><div class="tweet-row" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3d1957; display: block; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/GZ_2v0h-cS8/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GZ_2v0h-cS8&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GZ_2v0h-cS8&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="tweet-text tweet-text-large" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 28px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIiueMXgFy5MeNZ4v6ChBeF8_nH3YlLWpQAN_D0wJYU7SZNjfkuuAf11QGYlYLQ9FJaS4uWoxET9rJW_0Iz4Ug5kWRb1n5hsMH5F1vp_QHi090gXtPIYPPfHIIR5stAPijnJMMO19xEg/s1600/dahon_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIiueMXgFy5MeNZ4v6ChBeF8_nH3YlLWpQAN_D0wJYU7SZNjfkuuAf11QGYlYLQ9FJaS4uWoxET9rJW_0Iz4Ug5kWRb1n5hsMH5F1vp_QHi090gXtPIYPPfHIIR5stAPijnJMMO19xEg/s320/dahon_cropped.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes it is about the bike.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I purchased a Dahon Mu back in April as a low cost folding bike to meet my occasional needs to travel by train and plane. My goals were to spend under $500, have a gear range that could handle moderate hills, such as are found in Providence, RI. The spur for this acquisition was jealousy of several of my colleagues at the National Bike Summit who had convenient transportation to and from their accommodations. (And you know, walking 2 miles from the hotel to the halls of Congress in dress shoes HURTS). Since I had some upcoming trips by train at the time planned and relatives short plane flights away, it seemed a logical investment.<br />
<br />
There weren't many bikes that fit the criteria I had set out, particularly the price range, ruled out Brompton and Bike Friday folders. Between what looked to be a bad gear range for Breezer Zip models and mixed reviews from prior owners, I decided to avoid these as well. This left several options from Dahon, wheel size being the next significant one. It seemed to me that that 20" wheels were more desirable leaving a limited set of models. It was tempting to upgrade the price range to get a model with 24 gears, full racks -- essentially a folding touring/commuter -- but for what was expected to be an occasional use bike, it didn't make sense to over buy. In the end, the Mu P8 had the right price tag and seemed to be the right platform. Ordered online and shipped direct via amazon.com, the 2008 model arrived well packed and mostly assembled.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I road it a little bit in April, getting used to the handling, shifting and making sure nothing was obviously amis before taking it on it's first train journey and loaded trip. In those early rides, I quickly found it to be very capable bicycle, easily usable as someone's only commuter or general purpose bicycle. Aside form general riding around for errand and commutes, a friend invited me along on what we've taken to calling Eric's Raids. These usually include a bit of off-road exploration of abandoned rail lines, overpasses and interesting means of reaching those bits. This ride is what cemented this bike in my mind as a good alternative to my Breezer Liberty for utility riding. The photo above came from one of these raid rides while we took a break before trying the next bit of deep gravel.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxae6RgBirlv67qELfZSvyRtHIZOWt24i3-s9WUOluYH-CrbWft8-Pt5IxIrsXWb1X5eK0nyMC3xF8SfoiTfYpAa5up0HBvV_evDrD6DvzUp1kZnu9x8HJ7_Aj78ANG5dnd5IRFfBosnY/s1600/P1010206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxae6RgBirlv67qELfZSvyRtHIZOWt24i3-s9WUOluYH-CrbWft8-Pt5IxIrsXWb1X5eK0nyMC3xF8SfoiTfYpAa5up0HBvV_evDrD6DvzUp1kZnu9x8HJ7_Aj78ANG5dnd5IRFfBosnY/s320/P1010206.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loaded for Travel in Richmond, VA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The following month, I attached a gym bag to the rear rack and rode around Richmond, VA. With the approximately 20 pound of luggage, exploring and climbing the hills of this city in the river valleys and then taking the 30 mile trip to Pocahontas State park for some cabin camping and education. While there, I had the opportunity to try to keep up with some seriously fast road riders in hilly terrain and must say that again, the bike performed admirably. I had considered taking panniers for this trip, but wasn't sure that I could fit everything I needed into 2 rear panniers and couldn't really fit even small panniers onto the rear rack. This is probably the most significant issue I've found with the bike and the next item to be replaced. I've seen a folding rack from Bike Friday that looked promising if it will fit the mount points of this frame.<br />
<br />
And in the ultimate test of confidence, it got to be my primary ride for about 4 weeks when I foolish hopped a pothole and damaged the rim for the rear wheel of the Liberty. Between vacations, product line changes and discontinuations, it took me that long to get a new rear wheel for the commuter. I got plenty of practice curling a single pannier around the back of the rack. If a ride were particular bouncy, the pannier could actually curl in and start rubbing on the wheel.<br />
<br />
Overall, I'd recommend this bike. At 20 pounds, and its folding ability, coupled with the folding pedals or upgraded to MKS quick-release pedals, this bike is perfect for rail commuters where full size bikes are prohibited, or even on Amtrak trips.<br />
<br />
I did have to make some adjustments for the bike since it has a much more upright position and the handling can be a bit twitchy. Initially I was uncomfortable getting out of the saddle to climb hills, but after a month of commuting, I was standing almost exclusively for short climbs. Road feel is pretty good at 50psi on the stock Schwalbe 20x1.5" tires, but large cracks, sticks and such definitely transfer their vibration into the handle bar and saddle more than on my road bikes. On the upside, with the responsive handling, doding such obstacles is quite easy, even at the last moment.<br />
<br />
Even with 8 speeds, the gearing offers a good range in terms of gear inches low 30s to 90s. I did find that I could spin it out easily on downhills or flats with tailwinds, but never encountered a hill that I couldn't climb with the lowest gear.<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Just before I got my Liberty back on the road, I noticed that what I thought was chain noise coming from the chain watcher is actually being caused by a slightly bent chainring. It is entirely possible the bike came with this problem and I didn't notice until too late. A very good reason to heed the advice given on all of the materials to have the bike checked over by a mechanic before using it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Nit Picks:</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> - cable braze-on on right chain stay might catch on someone's heel if they have large feet (personal shoe, US 9.5/10) (caught a sandal edge on it once, but a tendency to ride heels somewhat out due to #2), presumably present for other drive-train options, but should be elsewhere.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> - Large feet with wide soled shoes (Teva sandals) feel like they're rubbing the chainstays.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> - Rear rack is small and curved at the rear, positioning a pannier far enough back to be out of the foot path requires a standard sized pannier to be forced curled around the back.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> - Locking up properly (awkward to get a cable lock through the bottom-bracket supports and both wheels, no rear triangle, easiest lockup seems to be to fold the bike up and catch both wheels from one side and the BB support triangle on the other.)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> - Grip Shift 8-speed, sometimes sluggish to shift, good sized grips and solid-click prevent accidental shifts.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> - Lots of chain noise rubbing on the chain watcher in lowest 3 gears.</div><div><br />
</div><br />
<b>Usage so far</b><br />
Since purchase in late April total mileage comes in at around 500 miles, I don't think I've had a reason to ride it since late August, though I expect to take it to VA in December.<br />
9 miles of commuting most days for over a month (when the weather wasn't wet - no fenders yet)<br />
60 miles loaded with a duffle of clothing and gear for a 4 days of hotel and cabin camping<br />
45 miles mixed on- and off-road exploring abandoned rail lines (deep, loose gravel; dirt; weeds; debris)<br />
<br />
For another review of a different <a href="http://www.dahon.com/">Dahon</a> folder versus a <a href="http://www.strida.com/">Strida</a>, check out Katie Mattison's article "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.commutebybike.com/2010/10/29/the-epic-commute-the-tale-of-two-folding-bikes/" rel="bookmark" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Permanent Link: The Epic Commute & The Tale Of Two Folding Bikes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Tale Of Two Folding Bikes</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">at <a href="http://www.commutebybike.com/">Commute By Bike</a>. </span></span><br />
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<b><br />
</b><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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