Lessons Learned While Biking

So I've been riding my bike to work for about 6 months now. Not every day; just 2-3 days a week. I won't ride in the rain and won't ride if I have a hockey game or something similar that night. I wouldn't say I've necessarily learned anything new about drivers, pedestrians, and other bikers during that time, but I've certainly clarified some things. Boston drivers not only are complete assholes, but they have a complete lack of respect for the 'right of way' rules.
First, the right-of-way issues. It's unexpected, but it's actually not drivers not yielding to someone else's right-of-way that pisses me off the most. It's morons stopping for absolutely no reason to let someone else go. Like when I'm waiting to cross a road and patiently for the cars that have green lights to just get out of the way so we can all move on with our lives in the most efficient way. Exactly the way that the traffic engineers that designed this system intended. But no, 1 moron decides that they should be nice to me and screw it up for everyone. 1) I'm probably not paying attention and instead taking in the scenery while I wait for their light to turn red. Meaning they sit there frustrated with me for not noticing their idiocy while other drivers do their best not to hit them. 2) I'm not going anywhere until I know everyone else on the road won't run me down. So even when I notice your stupidity, I still have to stand there until either the other drivers also stop or your light turns red. Even though it's technically a no-lose situation for me, it annoys the piss out of me. It makes other drivers hate bikers even though it's moron drivers that really caused the problem.
People talking on cell phones while driving terrify me. I see quite alot of bad driving now that I'm on the road a bit longer and really need to watch every car since they're not watching me. And while not every bad driving move I see involves a cell phone, the vast majority do. It's a simple fact of the human brain; you can't have an involved cell phone conversation and pay attention to your surroundings. Study after study has proved this out. Me watching people on their phones while driving proves this out. Yes, science has proven that roughly 2% of the US population can actually multitask. However, that means that 98% of everyone can't. Guess what...you're in that 98%!! Hang up the f'n phone and drive your car. Listen to the radio. Take in some sights and sounds. Pay f'n attention to what your doing. We all know that whatever conversation you're having can wait until you get to where you're going. I'm once again making my pledge to completely stop taking on the phone while driving. I already only do it at red lights and while stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but it's going back to a complete ban. It's comically dangerous and just unnecessary. It's also why God invented voice mail and satellite radio.

Travel "light"

This is probably going to be the first time I'll be happy that Hayley never reads these. She always claims to, but the closest she ever really gets is running her eyes over it and not really reading it. As a side note, I'm getting myself in trouble twice in this one post. Efficiency people, it's what engineers do.
Hayley is off on another interview trip this weekend, which means another round of packing and trying to shoe-horn it all into a carry-on bag. As I have seen this process a dozen times, I'm well aware of the short-comings and weaknesses. Her achilles heel is her bag of liquids. And ever time I watch this process I ask the obvious question...{dramatic pause so you all can say it with me}...do you really need all of this shit? Moisturizers, creams, gels, sprays, soaps, pastes, tubes, cylinders, bottles, it's a boggling array of shapes and colors and textures.
Today I missed the packing show, but did talk to her post-security when her flight was delayed because of weather. (Oddly enough, she should have called after landing by now. Maybe I should check on her flight...) She claims she actually made it through with more than her allotted 3-1-1 bag. Which of course prompts me to resume my "do you really need all that shit" questioning. Naturally I start with logical questions like, "What would happen if you just used hotel soap instead of your face wash?" "What if you didn't use moisturizer for a couple days?" "Can't you just use hotel shampoo and conditioner for 2 days?" And so forth. And as expected the answers get more and more annoyed as I go. Turns out it's just not something you ask a girl. Who knew?! I've seen her spend 30 minutes or more trying to fit all her liquids into an array of 3oz bottles and fit them all into a quart ziploc bag. Sometimes she quits and just checks the bag; sometimes she hopes she can get away with a little extra. All because something terrible happens if she uses hotel conditioner for 2 days.
Not for nothing, apparently similar things happen if you don't have 2 pairs of shoes for every day along with your own hair drier. But hey, I'm a guy and what do I know.
And now just to round this out in the usual way, Tyler is doing quite well. He's up to 30lbs and showing no signs of slowing down. He even got his first real big-dog tooth. Top-left canine. He's been sans tooth for a few weeks, so it looks like I'm losing my tug-of-war advantage. He's also finally able to just jump up on the couch at will. A couch that he finds very comfortable. We don't always find him up there when he's alone, but it's up to about 50/50. He still can't get up on the bed, but we know that's just a matter of months at this point.
We also swung by the breeder's house over the weekend to see some prospective puppy-owners and let them see some dogs. He had a new litter that was just up to 8 weeks and ready to go to good homes. It was shocking to picture Tyler being that small. We look over the old pictures and see it, but it's just no match for live. It wasn't that long ago that he was all tiny and unsteady. Good times, good times.
And with that, it's time to enjoy some more international beers to celebrate International Beer Day.
Peace!!