Ghost Bikes

You may or may not know that I have become an avid cycling commuter over the last 5 years or so. This is not just because I don't own a car - if I did have one, I probably wouldn't use it to get to work. It turns out that once I had invested in a half decent, comfortable bike, that I actually quite enjoyed cycling, and arrived at work feeling like I had already achieved something for the day. Cycling to work in Vancouver was fantastic and very rarely did I miss an opportunity, even in the snow.

However, since moving to Melbourne 2 years ago I have become sufficiently concerned by the attitude and arrogance of Melbourne drivers to cyclists, that I find myself cycling less often now. This is despite Melbourne's supposedly excellent cycling infrastructure - you can put a bike lane in, but cars will just use it for overtaking, and beep at any cyclists that get in their way (to make a glaring generalisation). What wouldn't I give for Copenhagen style bike lanes?

Cyclists are frequently injured or killed on the roads, too often due to motorists' lapse in concentration and judgement. Of great concern, recently there have been two incidents in Australia (that I know of) of motorists purposefully ploughing into a pack of cyclists. And while it is well known that the 'safety in numbers' approach to cycling does help to reduce the risk of injury on the road, it is very difficult to convince people to cycle when they are understandably concerned about safety.

But what attempts are being made to change perceptions of cycling and cyclists?

The Victoria Police recently released a Google maps application that pinpoints the locations of all Victorian road fatalities, including an alarming number of cyclists. However, I am not clear how this will help, other than to highlight cycling black spots to those who choose to look at the application.

Advocacy group Bicycle Victoria provides a variety of services for members and non-members, including organising cycling events for all ages and abilities, lobbying local and state governments to improve cycling infrastructure, providing advice on safe cycling routes, the rights and responsibilities of road users, how to deal with aggressive drivers, etc. I am a member of BV.

Another approach, that I first heard about only yesterday, is Ghost bikes. Ghost bikes are art installations of sorts serving as memorials to cyclists killed on the road. They are typically old disused bikes, stripped of parts, painted white with a plaque bearing the cyclist's name, and locked to a fixed point at or near the site of the crash site. Ghost bikes have appeared in at least 68 cities around the world, and yesterday a ghost bike 'appeared' in Melbourne. So I went to see it:


This ghost bike was placed in honour of Carolyn Rawlins, a 32 year old solicitor who was cycling to work through the Melbourne CBD on October 14th 2008, before being struck and killed by a tour bus. Sadly, she was 12 weeks pregnant at the time. Sadder still, her husband only found out about her death when he read about it online.

Whether or not ghost bikes do any good is debatable. While they act as striking reminders of the dangers that cyclists face, they may also serve to scare off potential cyclists.

What is critical is that cycling conditions be improved so that cyclists will feel safe. This in turn will facilitate an attitude shift among all road users, to further improve conditions for everyone. For me the bottom line is, more cyclists on the road means less cars on the road. This should improve traffic conditions for everyone, not to mention the obvious environmental and health benefits.

:-(

My doggy is very sick today, and I am sad. Poor Molly-Chops has been struggling to breathe since yesterday. We're not exactly sure why yet, but it may be due to a collapse in part of her airways. Apparently this is not uncommon in brachyocephalic dogs like her.


Its going to cost many thousands of dollars to help her get well, but I'll eat beans on toast for a year if that's what it takes. I simply couldn't bear to lose another doggy just a few days before Christmas.

Get well soon Chops. We love you.

Free Dates

Bryan alerted me to this, an ad that appeared on the Monash student and staff forum.


Since you probably can't read the ad in this tiny image, it reads:

Free Dates!!!!
Yes, that's right,for a limited time u can get free dates with a not bad looking guy.I will pay for food, movie etc...however if u would like to make any monetary or non-monetary contributions or donations be welcomed.I am 1st yr student@clayton, and speak very well english.If you are interested pls email me at my email addy and i'll put u on the list. Ty.PS. No dates with guys.
This was posted by a guy called Emmanuel.

Usually people use the forum to sell furniture and stuff, but this is quite innovative. Certainly he's offering value for money. Last time I checked nobody had replied to the ad though. Maybe everyone is creeped out by the request for non-monetary contributions!!

UPDATE Two days later:
One enquiring mind asks for clarification - "wat abt pple who believe themselves to be a girl trapped in a guy's body?"

To which Emmanuel answers, "sorry no can do"

Emmanuel also adds, "This offer will only be available for a limited time so hurry before it ends"

A girl called Emily comments, "hahah u sound like such a cutie...send me a pic and me will try to set u up with one of my friends who is also fluent @ english and is definitely a woMAN!"

To which Emmanuel asks, "umm Emily Zou? What is your email or how do i contact you or maybe could you email me? Is that okay?"

So maybe Emmanuel got a date with one of Emily's friends, or maybe not. I think I'm going to ask for an update.

A little more on Steve Irwin

I've found myself getting a bit caught up in the media coverage of Steve Irwin's death. Its not that I was a huge fan and not that I didn't like him either..to be honest I was a bit indifferent towards him. I guess its just sad to see anyone die prematurely like that. Anyway, some of the best coverage I've seen is from Andrew Denton's interviews with Steve, and with both Steve and his wife, Terri. They show another side to the Crocodile Hunters than that that most people would have seen on TV.

That is all.

A sad loss for Australia

I think he was more widely known outside of Australia than he was to Australians, but Steve Irwin, who died today, was an Australian legend nonetheless.

End of an era

In a little over a week Bryan and I are moving on to a new chapter of our lives. Three years to the day after I moved to Vancouver to spend more time with him, Bryan and I are are moving back to Australia. To Melbourne in fact. Bryan is defending his thesis on July31st, and we are flying out on August 1st. Bryan will be starting a postdoc at Monash University in Melbourne, and I will be working at The Burnet Institute at The Alfred Hospital.
I am looking forward to going to Melbourne, despite the worried look I get on my face when people ask me about it. It will be nice to closer to my parents, the flipside being that Bryan's family are going to be far far away. It will be nice to have summers that last for 8 months rather than 2 months, and nice to drive on the left again (just as I was getting good at driving on the right). But I'm pretty sad to be leaving Vancouver - its an amazing place, especially right now in all its summery glory. It might be a cliche, but I've honestly had the best 3 years of my life here. Work has been fantastic - wonderful supervisors and fellow students/postdocs in the lab. I'll be happy if my future research group is even half as good as I've experienced here at UBC (surely nothing could be as bad as places I've worked in years gone by).
I've met lots of lovely people, and many of them will remain good friends long after we've gone.
I've lived in a lovely red house in Kitsilano for the last 20 months or so. One of our neighbours is doing a painting of the house for us as something to remember it by - I'm excited to see it.
Right now we're trying to pack up what we're taking with us, sell what we can't take with us (anyone want a microwave?), and maintain some level of normality while Bryan studies for his defence. Oh, we're also having a party on Friday night to say goodbye to everyone. It will be a good way to finish up the dregs of our liquor cabinet, as long as nobody minds drinking out of plastic cups.
Now I'm all sad. Here's a Boston terrier puppy to cheer me up:

Footnote: Bryan and I decided we'd like to get a puppy once we're settled in Melbourne. I'd love to get a Boston Terrier, but I don't think they're very common in Australia so it might be hard to find a breeder near us.

What the?

What on earth is going on in Sydney right now? Its like people are being possessed by lemmings or something.

Third Person hit by Train Sydney Morning Herald, May 18, 2006

A man has died after becoming the third person to be hit by a train in Sydney within 24 hours.

The 42-year-old was struck by a city-bound train at Normanhurst Railway Station last night, police said.

Witnesses said he had jumped onto the tracks and tried to reach the platform on the other side when he was hit about 7.15pm (AEST).

He was treated at the scene by ambulance officers before being taken to hospital where he died a short time later.

Hornsby Police are preparing a report for the Coroner.

They have interviewed several witnesses and are urging anyone who saw the incident contact them or CrimeStoppers.

Yesterday afternoon, a wheelchair-bound woman had both feet severed after falling onto the tracks and was struck by a train at the eastern end of Miranda station, in Sydney's south.

The woman, aged in her 20s or early 30s, suffered head and arm injuries and had her feet severed near the ankle.

She was taken to St George Hospital in a critical condition.

And a 36-year-old woman was badly injured when she fell onto the tracks at Warrawee Railway Station, in northern Sydney, about 10.45pm (AEST) on Tuesday night and was also struck by a train.

She remains in a critical condition at Royal North Shore Hospital after emergency surgery.

Police do not believe any of the incidents were suspicious.

AAP

And for David Blaine's next feat ...

From the Boston Globe, May 10, 2006

By Scot Lehigh, Globe Columnist

DAVID BLAINE was dragged from his aquatic bubble on Monday, after spending a week submerged in saltwater and then capping that mind-boggling feat by attempting, unsuccessfully, to hold his breath for nine minutes.

Once out of the water, a weak and withered Blaine thanked his fans. ''I am humbled so much by the support of everyone from New York City and from all over the world,'' he said.

But behind that brave and gracious front, Blaine was apparently one shattered (and partly pickled) shell of saltwater-soaked showman. After his rescue, he was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, reportedly suffering from dehydration, peeling skin, and, one can't help but suspect, both a severe case of water in the ear and the dismaying condition that George Costanza termed ''shrinkage.''

The adventurer, whose previous deeds of derring-do included lying in a transparent coffin for a week, perching on a small platform atop a 100-foot pole for 35 hours, being encased in a block of ice for 61 hours, and fasting for 44 days while suspended in a plastic box in London, was crying Monday night, CNN quoted the head of his medical team as saying.

''He still feels today that he let people down,'' Dr. Murat Gunel said on Tuesday.

Let people down? Why, he lifted us up, brought us together, gave us all something to cheer about! Not since Fear Factor slipped off NBC's airwaves has America's pulse raced so quickly.

Yes, Blaine has had some detractors. Some nasty Londoners threw eggs at his Plexiglas prison during that ordeal, while one enterprising tormentor used a model helicopter to fly a hamburger by his clear enclosure. And it is true that when his rescue team sprang into action on Monday night, Blaine hadn't even managed to free himself from the chains that had been attached just before his breath-holding finale.

But think of all he had done!

Who among us hadn't longed to know what weight-loss plan he had used to drop 50 pounds in preparation for the stunt? Who hadn't spent the previous seven days wondering how the intrepid adventurer was faring, standing there in warm water, breathing through a tube? Who hadn't leapt from bed at alarm's first beep and hurried to the computer to check for the latest news of our New York City Neptune?

And who can imagine what thoughts went through Blaine's mind as the perilous moments ticked by?

Was he reliving his childhood?

Trying to remember his course schedule from his sophomore year in high school?

Attempting to recall the solution to that vexing riddle about a man lost on a tropical island populated with a tribe of habitual truth-tellers and another of inveterate liars, a man who has only a single question with which to deduce which jungle trail leads to the beach and rescue and which to a bog of quicksand?

Or did Blaine's mind race so during the long minutes - actually, make that days - that there was time aplenty to cram it all in?

We will only know when Blaine finally quits his heart-stopping adventures and pens his memoirs.

Unfortunately for us, that day likely lies some years in the future. For now, thwarted in this particular endeavor, Blaine is already hard at work concocting ever more imaginative spectacles to make it all up to us.

He is said to be mulling several options.

''If all the logistics can be worked out, next year he will sit in front of an oscillating fan for five days, with no protection save for a pair of chinos, a polo shirt, and a thin coating of hair gel,'' one of Blaine's close associates tells me. ''And on the final day, he'll try to stay awake while watching an entire season's worth of back-to-back episodes of 'Joey.'.''

Other possibilities are said to include: standing in a corner with a piece of bubblegum stuck to his nose for three days; wearing a scuba mask with a mosquito trapped inside for 30 minutes, during which time Blaine will attempt to fend off the rapacious insect by frantically flexing his eyebrows; and gargling with Listerine for a full minute.

''If David survives that, he may try to buy a ticket on Amtrak solely by using the automated telephone attendant, without ever once pressing 0 for assistance from a real live person,'' the same source reports.

There have been daredevils before Blaine, certainly.

Charles Blondin walked a tightrope across the Niagara River gorge. Harry Houdini performed several escapes from locks and chains and trunks dropped into icy waters. Evel Knievel tried to pilot a steam-powered rocket across the Snake River Canyon.

But they were brash showoffs all, figures seemingly intent on making us feel small by being larger than life.

None of them captured the spirit of sedentary America by becoming the master of stationary adventure.

And certainly none faced a foe worse than death itself - complete and utter tedium - and bested it in a game of chicken.

So please join me in raising a glass of Diet Coke to David Blaine, an everyday hero for our everyday age.

Pause for thought

When the big disaster hits, its going to be up to K-Fed to repopulate the earth.

Ick!

Too little too late

The Vatican has come out and said (under pressure, I suspect) that condom use would be the lesser of two evils, and could be used between a married couple where one partner has HIV/AIDS and wishes not to infect the other.

Ok here's the thing, I'm no ethicist or anything, but maybe if Catholics were allowed to use condoms in the first place, then this theoretical married person wouldn't have HIV anyway, and wouldn't have to worry about passing it on to his/her partner. Do you think preventing all HIV infections rather than just the ones involving married couples, might be the lesser of all evils? Frankly, I think its just another way for the church to punish people for having pre/extra-marital sex.