<stream-of-consciousness>Lemme see… Woke up this morning thinking, “Oh yeah, I have a spec review today!” Actually it’s a “speclet” but it is currently 47 pages and counting. I had four (count ’em) *sketchy* requirements to go on. It went well except for a couple times when multiple people chimed in at once throwing pronouns around willy-nilly and my brain started screaming “Tower of Babel! Sloowwww down and let’s walk through this!”

YakTrax anyone? First time for the year this morning. We’ve had little bits of snow but I’ve managed (with a minor bit of trepidation) my 0-skunk-30 trek in Keen sandals. Yes, they are warm enough for 14 degree (F) weather when worn with tights and Smartwool socks. We had *maybe* an inch of snow on the ground this morning and I don’t think it was really slippery enough for YakTrax. Usually that happens after a snow / thaw / freeze cycle but I put them on *anyway*. I’m not all that crazy about my newest pair of Bean winter “tennies”. Yet… The left boot fits like a glub, the right is a bit tight. But it was better today than yesterday, so I think they just need some breaking in. I have been buying these forever but I wear them until they fall apart so I can’t remember what the last pair was like when new.

The mayor is using his veto! I am in disagreement! (Seems like if you stressed just the right syllables, that could be the start of a poem but it doesn’t exactly mesh with “They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace, Christopher Robin went down with Alice”, as much as I would like it to because that’s what’s in my head right now… Hey, this is stream-of-consciousness, roight?) We have this ill-conceived Crosswalk Law here on The Planet Ann Arbor. Motorists are not only required to stop when pedestrians are *in* a marked crosswalk, they are required to read minds, i.e., guess what someone “approaching” the crosswalk is going to do. This is not an easy feat, especially in the dark when you can’t even *see* if there are pedestrians approaching the crosswalk. Do NOT get me wrong! I am ALL FOR pedestrian safety! I WALK! A LOT! I do my best when I am driving to watch out for pedestrians (and cyclists!). But we have been living with this stoopid law for a couple years now and accidents have happened and pedestrians have been killed and I freak out whenever I approach a crosswalk in my car. I do not think it is working.

I’ve had some scary moments dealing with this as a motorist. As a pedestrian, not so much but that’s because I am an able-bodied, very alert pedestrian who can sprint like hell when necessary. My scariest moment as a pedestrian in a crosswalk? All of the automotive vee-hickles stopped for me but there was a bee-cee-clettist coming up the hill toward me. I apparently didn’t gauge his speed accurately because he damn near hit me! And he was going FAST! If I had tried to cycle up that hill, I’d’ve prob’ly been walking my bike. Yes I did yell, “Hey you’re supposed to stop for pedestrians in approaching the crosswalk” (I was IN the crosswalk). [Disclaimer to my cycling readers: This was *one* irresponsible cyclist. I *know* y’all are (like most cyclists) respectful of pedestrians.]</stream-of-consciousness>

P.S. Here’s Ravel’s Bolero put to a good use. WARNING! If you do not like to look at nature, i.e., aminals eating aminals, DO NOT CLICK! Also, it is very long…

This entry was posted on Monday, December 9th, 2013 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.