Can you see this person?

Darker evenings - cycling fatalities, and now the yearly path of letters to local papers about those pesky cyclists starts.
 
I live on the Bournemouth/Poole border, and here cycle PATHS are non-existent, despite having some of the widest roads in the country (try driving in Bristol).  
We have been TOLD that painted cycle-lanes are all we need, we see cars driving around with daylight running lamps, full headlights in the darker hours, and fully lit streets after dark.

So what do we need now? A Law to make cyclists wear cycle helmets and hi-vis?  Europe doesn't insist on this hi-vis rubbish, if you cannot SEE a cyclist in any damned conditions, lit or not - STOP DRIVING.
If you are SO important you must charge about in your metal box, crash amber lights, insist on a right-of-way as your too large vehicle barges through side-roads, and then lane-swaps after passing everything to gain that vital 10 seconds -YOU are the problem.

If you park facing the wrong way at night, park on double yellows because it's 50m nearer 'Next' or as close to Tesco door-way as you can, to minimize walking, or just 'nip into' a disabled parking bay - YOU are the problem.

It's always talk, talk - talk-up a good argument in this country, yet we are so anti-cycling as a Nation, so wedded to our motorised status, sex, or fashion symbols that no-one ever really LOOKS to see what life on tarmac for a cyclist is really like.  It's bloody murder.

Blinded!

Only one month away from the shortest daylight day of the year - magic!

So only about another THREE BLOODY MONTHS of having to sit behind COMPLETE GIBBONS who wait in their cars at the lights with their feet permenantly glued to their BLOODY BRAKE-LIGHTS.
You can add even more fun to this scenario -  the same PLEBS will have an indicator light flashing as well - amazing!
You have to wonder - who do they think they are TELLING that they might turn left - or right? Me? The bloke in the next road? In fact, does this lane GO ANYWHERE ELSE BUT BLOODY LEFT?

Your entire windscreen is lit-up like a blasted Christmas tree from within, and when the traffic lights do change - you can't see a damned thing!

Speakers, Headphones?

Well this is nice.
A piece of free software that solves an issue, is FREE, and just WORKS.

Some of you, even on Windows 7, (seriously disinterested in Win8, I can tell you) must find that switching sound output devices is a real headache.

System Tray Audio Device Switcher ('STADS') makes it easy.
A simple idea that simply works, though you'll need to suffer the world's worst ever tray icon.

Download  <<  here  >>

Wickes - Red Herrings

This week's TV saw Wickes back with their red pencils out again, honestly, you expect this sort of filth on BBC3 don't you?

Anyroadup, (as my Mum never says), I was a bit shocked at the latest price cut Wickes are peddling, and being a boring sort of bloke - took to my calculator.

Assuming the new price - £2.15 includes 20% VAT, Wickes are selling their Sealant at net. £1.80, and again assuming they 'only' look for 20% for themselves, they will  make 30p profit at this new price (highly unlikely), making the cost to them - per tube, £1.50.

Ok, so this means the original £5.19 price tag included VAT of 86p, so net £4.33.  Cost is £1.50, so profit was £2.83 per tube.  Or 65% ?

Is it me?  Just what sort of margins are being sought up and down rip-off Britain?

Recession. Spend our way out or keep our heads down? Cycle Paths

I can usefully combine two of my current rants into one gloriously simple idea - so here it goes.

There has been a lot of talk about infrastructure building as a way of helping ourselves into job creation, materials production etc etc.  But how about if that same project lessened road misery?  Promoted health, made people happier?

Cycle Paths
Yep . . . . Cycle paths, that's what we need to build, in every single town in Britain, and once they're built, we need to connect them all up. 

For some inexplicable reason our masters seem to believe we're satisfied with this ↓

And . . . lets just get real for a minute . . . . mostly, the reality faced by UK cyclists looks like this

The rest of the world (especially the europeans) must be laughing their sandals off,  "is there NO democracy in the UK?" they ask each other, spluttering between gasps of air from the effort of trying to talk and laugh.  Before adding -  "We won't have to worry about them much longer, they'll have killed each other off in a few years time".

Seriously though, if you can glance away from the Mobile phone screen for a moment - take a look as you drive around.  There's an astonishing amount of vergeway, scrubland, wasted space by the side of a surprising number of roads - doing absolutely nothing.   Further, there is mile and miles and miles of pavement, sat there waiting for two people to use, every 24 hours or so.

If a cycle-path absolutely will not fit, then share the (widened if necessary) pavement space.

Have a look at this scheme:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuroVelo

and if you've no time - just imagine this . . . . .

Windbreaks and the great british psyche?

Clop, clop, clop.
Blazing sun, not an ounce of wind, tons of space on these gorgeous Dorset beaches.

What's this noise?  It's dozens of men, clopping down the poles on their family windbreaks.

An Englishman's castle eh?  Fence divide your borders, or . . . if not at home, build one out of striped canvas and bash its poles into the sand.  haha.

Olympics

Excellent wasn't it? Brilliant opening ceremony, fantastic performances by team GB and superb BBC coverage.

But you know me, always a bit pissed-off about something - so I'm so pleased I don't need to keep hearing about "Our HAUL of medals"  and I don't like having such a pop music themed Closing Ceremony, neither of which remained anywhere near what was once the true spirit of the games.