headers
Tunas Hijau Club | 3 Apr 2002 01:30
Picon
Favicon

Join the International Exhibition of Environmental Art Work!

Dear Friends of the environment,

Please join the initiative of our organization, the
Tunas Hijau Club, in Surabaya of Indonesia. 
We are going to organise an International Exhibition
of Environmental Art Work and we are calling for your
help to provide some exhibits for the exhibition. 
Exhibition of environmental art work from other
countries. 
The art work could be t-shirt, magazine, poster,
rubbish bag, mural, news paper, stickers, post card,
pin, cap, tool kit, environmental movie, etc.
Please support this event and send in your art work to
the Tunas Hijau Club. 
Here I send you the details. 
Thanks for your support and assistance. 

Regards, 
Roni 
President of Tunas Hijau Club 

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax
http://taxes.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
Robert J. Matter | 3 Apr 2002 12:17
Picon

Illinois House Approves Segway Sidewalk Riding

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-leg02.html

Chicago Sun-Times
April 2, 2002

House members also saw a motorized scooter shoot through the 
Statehouse, and they overwhelmingly passed a bill allowing people to 
ride it on sidewalks. 

Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago), drew a crowd as he whizzed around 
the Statehouse on the Segway Human Transporter, a device he says 
will change the way people get around. 

"It's like you're floating, it's remarkable," Burke said. 

It's now up to the Senate to decide whether to pass this bill along to 
Gov. Ryan. If it becomes law, each municipality in the state will 
decide whether they want it on their sidewalks. 

The plan has already drawn fire from 48th Ward Ald. Mary Ann 
Smith, who said it would be a disaster on sidewalks like Sheridan 
Road in Edgewater, where the city has cracked down on bicyclists on 
sidewalks.
Permalink | Reply | 2 comments |
headers
De Clarke | 3 Apr 2002 19:47
Favicon

Re: [CF] Illinois House Approves Segway Sidewalk Riding

Robert J. Matter (rjmatter@...) wrote:
> http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-leg02.html

[GROWL]

A buddy of mine got a $300 ticket for riding his bike on
a sidewalk. $150 or so for the offence, and the rest for
not hearing the officer yelling at him the first time and 
continuing to ride for a few yards before realizing what
was going on and stopping.

I don't see how legislators can defend allowing the Segway
gadget on sidewalks while banning bikes. Nor do I see that
the risks run by 8 mph cyclists sidewalk riding (danger to
peds, danger at intersections) are greater than those for
yuppies riding $8000 8mph segways.

what a crock.

de

...............................................................................
: De Clarke, Cycling Curmudgeon UCO/Lick Observatory, UCSC :
: de@... | NO MA'AM :
: ICE: just say no | WE'RE PROGRAMMERS :
Permalink | Reply | 1 comment |
headers
jamesjfitz | 3 Apr 2002 22:55
Picon
Favicon

Re: [CF] Illinois House Approves Segway Sidewalk Riding

--- In CarFree@..., De Clarke <de <at> u...> wrote:
> 
---snip---
> yuppies riding $8000 8mph segways.
> 
> what a crock.
> 
> de
> 

Picture the United States of Automobiles in 2004.
We probably won't have an election, but we'll have
a segway (or a few) in every SUV!

Jim
Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
Dan Kavanagh | 4 Apr 2002 14:57

Re: Occam's Razor

Oh Yes,

Our puerile leaders, who have banned cheap ubiquitous scooters, because
they are "dangerous", give the green light to the Smegway. Which as you
all know is the single biggest geek toy of the new millennium.

I eagerly await the new versions of the evil machine, ones with an
anatomic Fat American Belly curve in the steering pillar and built in
insulin pumps.

Where's that EMP projector I ordered......SPLAT!

Later,
Dan.

--

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Kavanagh Phone (850)224-7499
Organic Engines http://www.organicengines.com
661 Industrial Dr. kavanagh@...
Tallahassee, FL
32310
Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
Carl Chatfield | 4 Apr 2002 18:29
Picon

Re: Illinois House Approves Segway Sidewalk Riding

The Segway folks are brilliant at playing the mass media perfectly--to
the extent that state legislators are falling all over themselves to
introduce Segway-friendly legislation before a single Segway even
arrives in their state. Gotta hand it to them.

But from what I have seen and read of the Segway, it does seem more
reasonable on a sidewalk than on the street. When walking on a crowded
sidewalk, people make frequent small adjustments in their path to avoid
collisions with others. Sometimes they step to the left, or to the
right, speed up, or slow down. On a bike (or even an in-line scooter)
it's very hard if not impossible to make these very quick left-right
movements in place. And on a bike it's hard to travel at pedestrian
speeds and keep one's balance. The Segway seems to have solved these
problems, so allowing it on a sidewalk seems reasonable to me.

There's a lot of evidence (e.g. John Forrester's "Effective Cycling")
that sidewalks are probably one of the *most* dangerous places for
bicyclists, especially when traveling at even moderate speed. It's not
the pedestrians who are a threat to the cyclist (though they certainly
are a distraction), but cars cutting across the sidewalk. When moving at
a decent speed, the cyclist doesn't have time or line of sight to
respond to cars lurching out onto a sidewalk so the driver can see if
he's clear to enter the road, or turning from the road onto a sidewalk.
Despite what the law says I think car drivers often expect pedestrians
to yield to cars crossing the sidewalk (and they usually do), and
apparently the Segway can stop just as quickly as a ped in this
situation. A bike can't necessarily stop so quickly.

Having said that, though, I think a $300 fine for riding a bike on a
sidewalk is outrageous and I hope your friend got it reduced or
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
purple_bovine | 4 Apr 2002 23:48
Picon
Favicon

Giving up car?

So...

I am thinking of taking the next step and selling my car. I live in 
San Jose, and commuting to work is no problem. I can also make it to 
most of the other places I normally go, fairly conveniently. The car 
is getting too expensive for me to keep. 

However, as much as I would like to get rid of the thing (for many 
reasons - my health, environment, the Mideast crisis (I'm Jewish - 
this is personal for me), and my wallet), I admit that I'm worried. 
So - some questions for those who are living car-free in the SF Bay 
Area (and working fulltime). A mini-poll, if you will.

a) If you have to run an errand during the workday, and there is no 
public transit to where you're going, how do you do this? Assume 
that the place is too far to bike back and forth in your lunch hour.

b) What do you do if an injury prevents you from bicycling? 

c) What do you do if you have to bicycle to an occasion which calls 
for formal clothing - and it is raining?

d) What do you do if you take public transit to an event that ends 
after Caltrain service stops (10pm)? 

e) How do you transport large, fragile, or heavy objects (too 
large/heavy/fragile to fit into the bike baskets)? 

Just some basic questions. I would love to do this, but my life is 
very intense (and I like it this way), and I am a little worried.
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 21 comments |
headers
De Clarke | 5 Apr 2002 00:29
Favicon

Re: [CF] Giving up car?

purple_bovine (purple_bovine@...) wrote:
> So...
> 
> a) If you have to run an errand during the workday, and there is no 
> public transit to where you're going, how do you do this? Assume 
> that the place is too far to bike back and forth in your lunch hour.

In all desperation cases I call a taxi. The cost of a few
taxi rides per year is far lower than the cost of owning
a car :-)

> b) What do you do if an injury prevents you from bicycling? 

walk, or get a ride from co-workers or friends, or borrow car
from friend.

> c) What do you do if you have to bicycle to an occasion which calls 
> for formal clothing - and it is raining?

I never wear "formal" clothing and would refuse any invitation
that required it :-) but what people usually do is to plastic-
baggie the suit, tux, gown or whatever (also the fancy shoes),
and wear normal bike riding clothing plus rain cape or whatever,
while carrying the fancy duds as cargo. on arrival, hop into
the rest room of appropriate gender and do a quick change act,
stuffing the damp bike gear into the same plastic bag :-) then
stash the bag under the seat or in the locker or wherever, and
enjoy the Comtesse de M's soire'e, or the opera or whatever...

alternatively, for those special occasions, use a taxi...
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 1 comment |
headers
jamesjfitz | 5 Apr 2002 02:32
Picon
Favicon

Re: [CF] Giving up car?

--- In CarFree@..., De Clarke <de <at> u...> wrote:
> purple_bovine (purple_bovine@...) wrote:
> > So...
> 
> > c) What do you do if you have to bicycle to an occasion which 
calls 
> > for formal clothing - and it is raining?
> 
> I never wear "formal" clothing and would refuse any invitation
> that required it :-) but what people usually do is to plastic-
> baggie the suit, tux, gown or whatever (also the fancy shoes),
> and wear normal bike riding clothing plus rain cape or whatever,
> while carrying the fancy duds as cargo. on arrival, hop into
> the rest room of appropriate gender and do a quick change act,
> stuffing the damp bike gear into the same plastic bag :-)

Don't forget to pack a big bath towel for in between getting out
of the wet stuff and into the dry stuff.

Jim
Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |
headers
Michel Gagnon | 5 Apr 2002 03:48
Picon
Favicon

RE: [CF] Giving up car?

> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : purple_bovine
>
> So...
>
> I am thinking of taking the next step and selling my car. I live in
> San Jose, and commuting to work is no problem. ....
>
> a) If you have to run an errand during the workday, and there is no
> public transit to where you're going, how do you do this? Assume
> that the place is too far to bike back and forth in your lunch hour.

You might have an advantage we don't: bikes in rapid transit: an effective
way to increase the travelled distance. If you have to do a lot of these, a
folding bike might be worthwile: you do the part where traffic is slow on
bike, then hop on transit or taxi to do the high-speed section.

One thing I notice however: since I commute by bike, I tend to do more
small-item shopping on my way to/from work. Before that, it was either a too
long detour on foot (or by transit), or things were too heavey to carry
while on foot, or I didn't want to go by car and have parking hassles.

>
> c) What do you do if you have to bicycle to an occasion which calls
> for formal clothing - and it is raining?

I have large touring panniers with relatively rigid sides like the T-42 and
GT-54 (http://www.panniers.com), and they are suitable for semi-formal wear.
If you have to carry something prone to wrinkles, I would suggest something
like the garnment bag seen here http://www.twowheelgear.com/ (warning: I've
(Continue reading)

Permalink | Reply | 0 comments |

Gmane