tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post7437776149679951510..comments2024-03-18T19:39:32.100-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Slow Roundup 5Gus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-15770524390383181502008-06-19T00:05:00.000-06:002008-06-19T00:05:00.000-06:00Heh. One "good" thing about Boston's lunatic drive...Heh. One "good" thing about Boston's lunatic drivers is -- as far as I can tell -- that they deter this kind of idiocy.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-35847400317932203032008-06-18T11:35:00.000-06:002008-06-18T11:35:00.000-06:00I understand your frustration with the annoying se...I understand your frustration with the annoying sector of the bicyclist crowd. I live less than a half-mile from the dead center of downtown and I can't go anywhere with having to avoid one or two of this people. I've also just stopped taking several of my neighborhood through-routes at night as I've almost nailed some half-wit swerving down the road in the dark without lights or reflectors on several occasions. <BR/><BR/>There is also some odd group around my neighborhood that has turned biking into an ideology...I don't know.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14647603135214400838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-58678483620096793422008-06-18T04:32:00.000-06:002008-06-18T04:32:00.000-06:00True. MOST comment spam is automated, but every ti...True. MOST comment spam is automated, but every time I am dumb enough to tell my readers I am going (or even MIGHT) be going out of town, some bozo tries to post an ad to my blog, and I'm not especially widely-read.<BR/><BR/>In addition, some candidates and causes attract nearly fanatical followers who seem to have nothing else to do with their time but cut and paste canned "arguments" in support of their candidate into blog comments any time certain search terms come up.<BR/><BR/>There are lots of nuts out there with plenty of time on their hands that my idea would easily take care of.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-44696213239540786542008-06-17T22:45:00.000-06:002008-06-17T22:45:00.000-06:00Gus: isn't most comment spam automated? In which c...Gus: isn't most comment spam automated? In which case wouldn't using the Blogger Word Verfication option (which I see you are already using) be sufficient?Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484553988416936997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-59245628008468255712008-06-17T13:35:00.000-06:002008-06-17T13:35:00.000-06:00"Having said all that, I do disagree that bicyclis..."<I>Having said all that, I do disagree that bicyclists should obey all traffic laws. I run stop signs and red lights whenever I can, but I do so safely. I will never do it in a way that causes a car to slow down for me, or a pedestrian to fear for his life.</I>"<BR/><BR/>As an occasional bicyclist myself, I'll grant you that.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps a better way to put it is this, "If you behave rudely and expect me to forgive you on the premise that a bicycle is somehow "equivalent" to a car, expect me to treat you with rudeness equivalent to that a lousy car driver deserves."Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-18221275757949195612008-06-17T11:10:00.000-06:002008-06-17T11:10:00.000-06:00Gus,As an avid biker myself, I share your disgust ...Gus,<BR/>As an avid biker myself, I share your disgust at this "green-in-your-face" behavior of bicyclists where they insist on taking up an entire traffic lane. There is no reason for them to do that. As a kid growing up in a suburban area, I learned that the roads exist first for cars, and my job as a bicyclist is to stay as far to the side of the road as I can to let cars safely pass me. Needless to say, it was entirely in my self-interest to do so in order to avoid getting clipped by a car. In all my years of bicycling on city and suburban streets, it has never happened.<BR/><BR/>However, these "activists" who make a "cause" out of bicycling risk making drivers so angry that some yahoo will intentionally clip a bicyclist. That includes the completely unnecessary practice of taking up a traffic lane. It also includes, here in New York, bike-mob behavior. Various groups will organize mass rides where they will flout all traffic laws and deliberately snarl traffic. These nihilists pretend they are pursuing some noble "green" goal, but in reality they just love causing mayhem as an end in itself.<BR/><BR/>Having said all that, I do disagree that bicyclists should obey all traffic laws. I run stop signs and red lights whenever I can, but I do so safely. I will never do it in a way that causes a car to slow down for me, or a pedestrian to fear for his life.<BR/><BR/>Mutual courtesy can allow cars, bicyclists and pedestrians to "share" the road. These activists want to create an "us versus them" conflict that is unnecessary and, ultimately, contrary to any legitimate goals a bicyclist would want to achieve.Galileo Blogshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02592692929747610846noreply@blogger.com