Enough whining, time for action!

I often rag about the situation but don't always get off my arse to do something.

But sometimes I do.

I have made a commitment to the Obama campaign by donating my data skills to the cause. Campaigns run on data and I'm a data geek (I think in 3NF...) so it's a perfect match.

I am an Obama Data Fellow.

It will take all the time I can offer and it's a volunteer position so I get no compensation.

Except for securing a sustainable future for us all.

How about you? 

Do you have an hour or two over the next few weeks to help get us back on track? There are lots of simple ways you can help, just go to the Obama site and look around. Perhaps you won't find as perfect a match as I have but wouldn't it feel good to have participated in changing our world for the better?

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no bird sang except those that sang best." - Henry Van Dyke

PBS asks if Palin is qualified; go tell them NO!

PBS has an online poll posted asking if Sarah Palin is qualified. Apparently the right wing knew about this in advance and is flooding the voting with YES votes. The poll will be reported on PBS and picked up by mainstream media. It can influence undecided voters in swing states. Please do two things -- takes 10 seconds. Click on link and vote yourself. Here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html Then send this to every single Obama-Biden voter you know, and urge them to vote and pass it on. The last thing we need is PBS saying their viewers think Sarah Palin is qualified.

Why McCain doesn't want to discuss the issues

So Johnny and his girl-friend have announced that they will be launching a new phase of their campaign where they focus on smearing Barack Obama rather than discussing the issues.

Remember the Keating Five and the S&L crisis? No, not the SNL Crisis, the savings and loan crisis. Remember how John McCain was at the center of that crisis, not as a faux saviour like he has been in the current crisis, but as a participant in creating the problem. That's why he was called before the Senate Ethics Committee. 

If that were my legacy, I wouldn't want to be talking about it either. That crisis was huge at the time with a federal bailout of $124 billion, pocket change compared to our current mess.

Fortunately, the democrats have decided to help the voters understand McCain's role in the S&L crisis and the economic policies he favors that have brought us to the current financial debacle. 

Take the time to educate yourself on what it is that McCain doesn't want to discuss.

Safety, Awareness & Memorial

We've had a run of bad luck in our cycling community. Of course we are only sort of a community since we all ride different ways for different reasons. But our loose community, brothers and sisters all, rolling on two wheels for joy, health, and reasons unknown all have stories of near misses and worse...

It goes with the territory.

But does it have to? 

Sure we swim with fishes a hundred (or more) times our weight and many times as fast. We still each take our actions with a singular human brain whether it's pushing two pedals to propel us forward or only one. There are more two pedal people these days so it stands to reason there will be more problems but perhaps with more awareness for one and two pedal people, we can all be safer.

In order to reach that goal we all need to come together and look out for each other. It's easy to say it's the cars that need to pay attention to us. Just the other day I watched my sweetie nearly get T-boned by a car pulling out of a side street onto the busy road we were on. It was dark but we were lit up like christmas trees. Damn drivers I thought but then a day later when I was in a car, I saw a couple cyclists, also in the dark but wearing dark clothing and without lights weaving in and out of traffic. Damn cyclists I thought but it's really damn people I should be saying.

We all need to think how our transportation choices interact with everyone on the road. 

While we're thinking about this perhaps it would be a good start to join the memorial ride this weekend.

It's times like this that our loose community gets tight. If you can't make it this Saturday, Oct. 4th at 10:30 in the morning, pause for a moment right at that time and ask yourself if you are doing everything you can to keep us all safe.