Ministry of Funny Walks

I don't know if any of you followed the UK elections (I don't know why you would), but if not, this was by far the most interesting part.

Different Story, Same Intersection

This week I had another cycling incident at the same intersection as last week. This time I just stopped at the red light and waited for it to turn green. There was another cyclist on the other side of the intersection. I made sure to signal very conspicuously that I was turning right. He still didn't seem to notice until we'd both started pedaling, though. When he looked at my signal, he also gave a right-turn signal. However, by this time we both had too much momentum to turn in front of one another, so we both yielded as though the other were going straight, then went ahead and turned right behind each other. I've illustrated it in a quick Paint image above if my description is inadequate.

My brother Spencer often thought of odd exceptions that should be incorporated into the rules of the road to make sure everyone should pay better attention. Maybe this is an option?

Biking Codes

On my way home today, I stopped at a red light. No one was coming, so I proceeded into the intersection, signalling right and began turning (although going through red lights on your bike is slightly less socially acceptable in Britain, this particular light has a major bike path coming onto it, so lots of people run it, if not everyone). As I began turning, another biker zoomed past me on my right (a right turn here is like a left turn in the US, in that you have to cross another lane to do it). I braked, but my front tire bumped his back tire, and my bike fell over. I landed on my feet while the man yelled at me in a Scottish accent, "JEEESUS! Yeh deedn't ee'n look behin' yeh!"

I apologized, got back on my bike, and finished turning (luckily there were still no cars around). I was feeling at fault because of his berating, but as I thought about it, I'm not sure what I did wrong. I probably didn't give a big enough signal, but the guy was nowhere near me when I stopped at the light. He must have been going fast, and clearly didn't stop at the light at all. Granted, I was going through a red light and am therefore somewhat at fault, but he did that while not stopping, so I'd like to allocate him more of the fault.

I remember in Chicago thinking there was something of a biker's code about how to run red lights, but unwritten codes don't work in situations where not everyone knows them. I guess the obvious answer is to just wait for the light to turn green. Anyone have any thoughts on how the biker's code would deal with this?

Honor Societies

xkcd hits it right on the money here. Pretty much sums up my feelings about NHS in high school.

Conan

I don't know how closely any of you have been following the Jay/Conan/NBC battle, but I thought I would share my thoughts on it. I've been keeping up to date with American news now more than I did when I lived in America - it's odd how much little things can mean when you're completely displaced from the familiar.

I'm sure everyone has different thoughts on it, but beyond just assigning blame to people, the entire thing has me very sad. NBC was always my favorite network, from its news to sitcoms to late-night lineup. But Conan's show was always a special point in that for me - starting in junior high, I would always watch him before going to bed. Most people I knew didn't watch him, and that made it a kind of haven for the persecuted outcast, seeing a tall, awkward nerd get up on camera every night being funny and enjoyed.

I suppose I just figured that, even though Conan would have to tone down his style of humor for the Tonight Show, that I would still have that same basic haven to go back to for years to come. I know he'll probably get a show with Fox, but after leaving the Tonight Show, it's never going to seem as perfect as it did in my mind. Maybe that's just the persecuted 7th grader in me talking, though.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?