German engineering in road design

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher]

On Thu, 5 Jul 2012 05:43:38 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach

On Wed, 4 Jul 2012 20:40:04 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach

On Jul 4, 9:36 am, "TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher"

On Tue, 3 Jul 2012 21:58:31 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach

On Tue, 3 Jul 2012 05:53:45 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach

On Mon, 2 Jul 2012 21:54:01 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach

And I'm probably not the only one who's been passed with eighteen inches
of space (not counting the side mirror!) in view of a policeman who took
no action.

There's only one solution to this, which is to put UNDERCOVER COPS to
experience these violations and enforce the laws accordingly.

rec.guns; sheldon; carrying on a bike. After it gets to be know that
the bikers are toting the big black SUV's will give you a wide birth.

It's good to have a gun with you as a backup but I see little use for
it for cars that pass you too close or even that harass you before you
have time to react. You may find yourself shooting into the air and
maybe getting into deep shit as well. A machete is a scary weapon that
may find a practical use along the way. Say, you find watermelons and
you can eat them nicely.

You seem a bit confused. You say that cars pass too quickly for a gun
to be used while a machete is viable? How can that be? Or do you carry
the machete in your teeth?

A machete is a weapon for when you are truly cornered and it's him or
you.
And it would be in the news as well, wouldn't it?

I guess you never heard the old adage "never bring a knife to a gun
fight". After all, those rich folks roaring around in their powerful
SUV's will not be the type who have recent experience swinging through
the trees with the machete between their teeth. Most will more likely
have a Personal Assistant armed with a baseball bat and a large gun.
I can hear telling the cops now, "Well, Officer, this loon came racing
down the road on a bicycle with a banana in one hand and a machete in
the other. I had no other choice but to go for a triple off the side
of his head (those funny plastic hats they all wear don't seem to
provide much protection, I might say). Didn't want to have to shoot
the poor fool, he is probably an escapee from a Home somewhere.

True, but have you heard that in the jungle whoever strikes first
often wins?
He comes out of the car, menacingly, he hears no reason, he wants to
teach me a lesson, I'm "standing my ground" (key concept in Florida)
and all of a sudden his head rolls through the ground.
It sounds simple, at least on paper.

It's simple and also good for a murder one charge and conviction since
you armed youself with the machete with he intent of assaulting
someone. No wonder some motorists think that all bicyclists are
nutcases.
One day the machete wielder will meet omeone with a gun and an
attitude. You know the old adage, "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight."
No matter how big the knife the gun wil win.
With many of your attitudes I think that the Tibetan Monkey will
become extinct.

I think it's kind of funny for a "civilized society" that a cyclist
must carry a machete to save his life. No difference from a handgun.
Oh yes, you can use the machete to cut watermelon. All drivers got a
weapon anyway... their car.
But that's only my humble opinion.

In your "civilized" American society you probably need a lawyer more
then a hand gun.

Maybe it's because it's made for lawyers by lawyers. The "fine print"
is left obscure so you always must turn to them.
They won't let this turn into a peaceful land where the fast and
furious coexist with the humble and smart. I'm talking about a model
more like Germany than Holland. They love their fast driving, but they
still made room for bicycles. And I hear they are respected.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Fine, you're wrong.
The "fine print" in a contract is meant to be read and understood -
that is why it is there. The fact that you didn't read, nor didn't
understand, the terms and conditions of the contract is hardly room
for complaint about the contract. Rather a complaint about the fool
that is signing it.

I know what the fine print is but I'm stretching it to mean something
so confusing as the laws in America. They are made confusing so the
ultimate authority is the lawyers or the courts or the drivers. Case
in point is idiotic "as far to the right as possible."

The more you think the more idiotic and elusive it becomes.

As for Germany, fast driving and bicycles. Try riding your bicycle on
the Autobahn to discover how well Germans suffer fools.

True, but the Germans have learned to separate cars from bicycles.
Perhaps that's what they mean by "German engineering."

What do they mean by "American engineering"? To me it means "stupid."


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[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher]

And the energy used to make a bicycle is a considerably larger amount
then that necessary to walk down to the corner store and get a quart
of milk. So the entire energy discussion vis-a-vis cars and bikes is
really just so much eye wash when you can walk.

To compare the energy of building one bicycle with the energy of ONE
ride or walk is inappropriate. The bicycle I bought in 1980 carried
me ten or twenty miles this week, and has carried me over 25 thousand
miles since I bought it.

One decides to (1) drive down to the 7-11 and get the slurpee in the
SUV with the TV going and the Air, or one can swoop down on the bike.
Either is simply a further example of a decadent life style. One
could walk but one feels one must use some artificial means of
transportation to prove.... what?

I don't know about anyone else, but my choice is not to prove anything.
The "corner store" is no more. Building was condemned six weeks ago,
so now I go about a mile. Walking vs. biking means my frozen foods are
out of the freezer for twenty minutes vs. six minutes.
Air temperature here has reached 105¹F three times this week.
Also, I can carry more weight on the bicycle than in two hands.

Only an idiot would choose walking over biking, particularly with a
load. But in cold weather may be preferable.

Anyway, the American sprawl has been designed to defeat walking --not
even sidewalk. That's American engineering.

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher]

On Fri, 6 Jul 2012 22:15:21 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach

Post by His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher

And the energy used to make a bicycle is a considerably larger amount
then that necessary to walk down to the corner store and get a quart
of milk. So the entire energy discussion vis-a-vis cars and bikes is
really just so much eye wash when you can walk.

To compare the energy of building one bicycle with the energy of ONE
ride or walk is inappropriate. The bicycle I bought in 1980 carried
me ten or twenty miles this week, and has carried me over 25 thousand
miles since I bought it.

One decides to (1) drive down to the 7-11 and get the slurpee in the
SUV with the TV going and the Air, or one can swoop down on the bike.
Either is simply a further example of a decadent life style. One
could walk but one feels one must use some artificial means of
transportation to prove.... what?

I don't know about anyone else, but my choice is not to prove anything.
The "corner store" is no more. Building was condemned six weeks ago,
so now I go about a mile. Walking vs. biking means my frozen foods are
out of the freezer for twenty minutes vs. six minutes.
Air temperature here has reached 105¹F three times this week.
Also, I can carry more weight on the bicycle than in two hands.

Only an idiot would choose walking over biking, particularly with a
load. But in cold weather may be preferable.

Well, I can only say that there have undoubtedly been more idiots who
walk then effete riding bikes. Good to know I'm not alone.

Post by His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher
Anyway, the American sprawl has been designed to defeat walking --not
even sidewalk. That's American engineering.

How's that? Made everything stand on edge? No place to put your feet?
Oh, I get it. You need a special place to walk, is it? The side walk.
Sort of like your special bicycle paths - no bike path, can't ride the
bike. No sidewalk can't walk.

How about this proposal for American engineers:

Channel everybody onto to the road. Cars, bicycles and pedestrians can
all share the road.

Our sidewalks are falling apart anyway, so that's handy advice.