July 10 - Transit

Okay, this one is going to get squidgy, but it needs to be said.

There is a certain road within the City of Chicago that has been notoriously bad for bicyclists, yet one of  the most popular roads for bicyclists to use. My guess is that a lot of the sort of people who choose to ride their bikes to work live along this road, so they see it as a good thoroughfare for their commute. In the last month or so, the City of Chicago repainted much of this road to include bicycle lanes going in both directions, often times on the opposite side of the parked cars from the moving traffic. While I think setting up separate bike lanes is a good idea, I don't think much thought was put into making this stretch work well, as it also involves a couple of the worst intersections in the City of Chicago, where now motorized vehicles (including public transportation vehicles) are stuck and stalled for a mile or so, waiting for all of the bicycles to pass so someone can turn right. I'm not saying I have a better solution; I'm just saying this one doesn't seem particularly well thought-out.

There is one particular intersection, though, where they did give it some thought, as there are an inordinate number of cars that need to turn right in that spot, and a large number of bicycles going straight. This intersection is maybe 400 feet from the light preceding it, which is a six-way intersection, so to have all of the motorized vehicles wait for all of the bicycles at this intersection...it would end up messing up three major roads in Chicago, not just one. So they installed a traffic light specifically for the bicycles - it has red, yellow, and green bicycles that light up to indicate when the bicycles have the right of way - and next to it a turn lane with a right turn arrow light (red, yellow, and green) to indicate when the motorists have the right of way. This is the one intersection where I think they did things right.

So on my way home today, traffic in that general area was particularly bad, so a certain motorcyclist decided that since his vehicle has only two wheels, it was appropriate for him to ride in the bicycle lane. One of the bicyclists stopped at the intersection in front of the motorcycle (maybe more of a scooter, but still), turned around and informed him that the bicycle lane was for human-powered vehicles only, not motorized vehicles. The motorcyclist moved slightly into the motorized vehicle lane to get through the light, and proceeded on to the next light - the one where there is a bicycle light and a right turn light. I was about three cars behind them at this point, and I saw that the right arrow light was green and the bicycle light was red. The bicyclist in question had moved over in front of the right-hand turn lane, blocking the motor vehicles who had the right of way at this point. In moving out of the way of the oncoming traffic, the bicyclist turned very widely to the right. The motorcyclist also turned right, but more directly. The motorcyclist hit the bicycle's rear tire and the bike went down. I don't think anyone was seriously injured, but the bicyclist was certainly pissed off as he brushed off his knees checking for injury. I just kept driving. My curiosity to find out if they were okay was overwhelmed by the desire to get out of my car and scream at them both, so I figured it was best for everyone involved if I just kept going and didn't disrupt the flow of traffic further. Because honestly, who is more infuriating: the motorcyclist who thinks it's okay to ride in the bicycle lane, or the bicyclist who thinks the giant red bicycle stop light doesn't apply to him?

I know, I know, bicycles have lower emissions and cause less damage to the roads and take less space to park and yadda yadda yadda. And I know I am going to get screamed at for this, but I hate bicycle riders in the city. As the driver of a car, I know I check before I change lanes or turn in front of a bicycle, I wait for bikes to pass before I open my parked car door, I wait for bikes when I'm turning left and they are part of the oncoming traffic. I know not every car looks out for bikes, but I do. And yet, bicyclists have nearly run into my car at least three times (while I was stopped waiting at a light), and I have nearly been run down by bicycles as a pedestrian more times than I can count. Even this morning. The thing is this: it feels like bicyclists think they have carte blanche to ride however and wherever they please, following some sort of hybrid car/pedestrian rules, picking and choosing which rules they want to follow when. That's not how it works. We all have to work together to use the roads properly so we can all get where we're trying to go, no matter if we are in a car, on the bus, on a bike, or on foot. Everyone has to look out for everyone else.

And while we're at it, people have to take a class and pass a test before they are allowed to drive. There is no such testing for bicycle riders. Hell, I'm guessing most of them haven't even read their city or state laws on bicycle riding. So before you get too snippy with me, please check out the Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road, the Municipal Code of Chicago concerning bicycles (pay special attention to this bit), and the Illinois Highway Code concerning bicycles. I've read them. Have you? Do you know how many laws you broke riding your bike to work this morning? I'm just saying. And no, a cursory glance over your shoulder where your head moves three degrees to the left does not qualify as "signaling."

The public roadways are for everyone to use, on the vehicle of their choosing or without any vehicle at all. We all need to realize that we are not the only person on the road, and that our destination is not the only one that matters. If we all look out for each other, and everyone obeys the signs and signals that apply to them (yes, bicyclists who run red lights because they don't want to stop, I'm looking at you), we'll all get where we need to go in a reasonable amount of time with minimal incident.

And to the motorcyclist and the bicyclist who got into that accident today, a pox on both your heads. I saw it coming a mile away - why didn't you?

April 21 - Um...

Okay, so you know how I get emails that are not intended for me? Today, I got one saying an inmate has blocked my email address so I can't email him anymore.

I have not ever emailed an inmate to my knowledge, nor do I see myself doing so in the future unless someone I know becomes incarcerated. I certainly do not know the inmate who blocked me. But the really weird thing was that I found myself rather miffed that this inmate was so offended by something someone using my email address had done, that he felt it necessary to block me. What was the offense? And won't he be unpleasantly surprised to learn he blocked the wrong email address?

April 6 - April 5

I didn't blog yesterday. I had every intention of blogging, but I fell asleep instead. It was a horrid day, and the sleep was very much needed, so I'm not going to worry too much about it.

I will apologize to you guys, though, for missing a day. Those of you who read this, if, perchance, you look forward to hearing from me on a daily basis, I let you down yesterday. I think in total post count for the year, though, I'm still doing okay. I realize, too, that it is entirely possible that a lot of (if not most of) the visits my blog gets in a day are spambots and spiders just trolling the web to see what things exist. To those spambots and spiders, I do not apologize for missing yesterday. I'm sure you had plenty to do anyway. I do apologize to the actual humans who read this.

I've got a lot on my plate for today (speaking of which, I need to make breakfast), but I am going to try to put up the post I wanted to write yesterday about discovering Mark DeRosa.

Talk to you soon.

March 21 - A Public Apology

I saw someone get injured last night.

I went to see a preview performance of the show I am currently understudying and there was a mishap on stage that resulted in a cut hand and blood splattered all over the stage. It was unnerving. For as much as I tend to think I'm desensitized because shows like The Following aren't as scary as I want them to be, it was unnerving to see someone get hurt in real life. I spent the remainder of the show and a large portion of my evening once I got home hoping the injured actor was okay.

The director informed us at intermission that the injured actor was fine. Indeed, the injured actor finished the show with a bandage on the injured hand, and gave a lovely performance. The show's crew did an excellent job of cleaning up the stage to ensure no further injuries would occur. I'm sure the injured actor and the injured actor's scene partner were upset by the incident - it's unsettling to accidentally injure someone and it is unsettling to be accidentally injured - but from where I was sitting, I think everything was handled quite well.

It did make me think about my own on-stage injury. Most of you know this already, but for those of you who don't, I broke my ankle on stage last November, when my roller skates went the way they wanted to instead of the way my legs wanted them to. I certainly heard a crunch when it happened, and I was very near several audience members. I wonder how many of them watched me crawl back to my seat on the bench. How many gasped like we all gasped last night, and spent the rest of the scene holding their breath, wanting someone to stop the show and take care of the injured party, and respecting the hell out of the injured party for playing it out? How many went home that night and thought, "I hope she's okay?"

If any of the audience members in attendance at the show wherein I broke my ankle were upset, unsettled, or unnerved by my accident, I apologize. I know it is not fun to watch someone get hurt when it happens right in front of your face. I am fine now, as I'm sure the injured actor from last night will also be fine. I hope that witnessing my accident didn't sour you on the theater at all - that doesn't happen very often, most plays are really safe. In any case, I apologize if the incident was upsetting.