IL crosswalk law: good intentions and probably more deaths

some years ago, when commuting to Park Ridge for work, i noticed a curious plastic sign in the middle of a crosswalk. it had a pedestrian symbol, a stop sign symbol, and the text "State law: Traffic must stop for pedestrians in crosswalk."

And for the most part, traffic did stop. It was all very civil.

But i had not heard of this law, and saw no other mention of it. Until recently.

Recently, Chicago has been placing these plastic signs at seemingly random intersections in the city. I've noticed they're not quite as successful as that first one in Park Ridge, but about half the drivers seem to get it.

But Chicago is doing a couple curious things. First, they're not putting them everywhere, and where they don't appear, drivers don't stop. Second, they'll move them about, as if they only have a handful to spread around. So any given intersection may lose its sign, and as before, drivers no longer stop.

This is causing havoc. I'm worried as hell that, as a pedestrian, any given driver may know the law or not. And even if one does slow down or stop to let me cross, who knows if the guy coming the other way -- or the one behind who thinks the first guy is an idiot and whips around to pass -- is going to yield to me?

in fact, as a driver, on Damen last week a couple walked out onto the street right in front of me (which turns out is against the law) without warning. had i been paying just a tad bit less attention, it's quite possible i could have hit them. yes, they were in a crosswalk, but no, this one did not have the temporary plastic sign. imho, the pedestrians were a bit too optimistic about driver behavior.

given the general ignorance of the law, and infrequent signage, nobody knows what to expect anymore at any given intersection whose rules are not already indicated by a stop sign or traffic light.

to make matters even more confusing, the city has been painting new crosswalks here and there, but with different patterns. on the corner near my house (pictured), they've got two different styles going. is it supposed to mean something? as both a pedestrian and a driver, i have no idea what they mean and how my behavior is supposed to change. at least until the plastic sign makes its temporary appearance.

i like the zebra crossings in London. i think it's smart that they're not as prevalent as Every Single Intersection, and doubly smart that they're frequently not at road intersections, so drivers can react to the pedestrians only, and not worry about turning or other vehicles crossing their paths. i think there are far too many crosswalks in Chicago to make this practical, if pedestrians expect to be able to step in front of a speeding car and survive every time.

i am in awe of the GOP

i am in awe of the GOP, for mostly two reasons. first is their ability to consistently get people to vote against their own interests. second is their ability to control the debate and get their way, even when in the minority.

the recent events in Wisconsin and Michigan highlight recent brazen attempts at power grabs and attacks on democrats' power bases that underscore what i see as outright contempt for the idea of balancing forces and governing for the people.

it's an amazing Big Lie in action. during GW Bush's two terms, i was amazed at how the GOP could sell the idea that running huge deficits was actually good for the economy. right around the day Obama took office, we saw a complete 180 on how deficits are destroying the economy. to the surprise of no one (i hope), the GOP turned their attention to slashing the budgets of items that run counter to GOP ideology.

in Wisconsin, take that a step further to weaken democratic power bases, such as organized labor. heck, in this instance, be sure to exclude organized labor that voted for you (police and fire unions). that this is political payback and an attack should be obvious, yet the GOP still (mostly) frames the debate that this is about balancing budgets.

there's a lot of noise being made by a large number of people who see through all this and i'm even hearing talk of an illegal, general strike in Wisconsin. side note: apparently this might include the fire fighting unions, at which point firefighters should prepare to have their own collective bargaining rights eliminated.

despite the noise, and even in the event that Governor Walker is eventually removed from or voted out of office, i see this as the opening salvo in a sustained and eventually successful effort by the GOP to become the dominant party for decades.

if the GOP can succeed in destroying the fundraising bases of the dems, and if the GOP can succeed in ensuring that public education is ineffective, and if the GOP can continue succeeding in those two things of which i am in awe... what is left to stop the GOP?

imho, it can only be a splintering of the party. though i hear grumblings within the GOP about elected tea party officials maybe over-reaching, i'm not yet seeing anything resembling a parental smackdown.

the election of Obama left me hopeful, though that hope has all but faded. i see his election as the last hurrah of the liberal left (side note: well done to the GOP for painting the words "liberal" and "social" in such a negative light), an earth-moving event for which calls of "general strike" are mere aftershocks.

maybe i'm too soon declaring the patient dead, but i fear the best days of the United States are behind it.

please be more vague, Ms Palin

i mean, i'm having far too easy a time parsing what you mean by this:

"My number one criticism of President Obama is he promised to and he's trying to fulfill his promise of fundamentally trying to transform America," Palin said. "We don't need a fundamental transformation, we need a renewal and a restoration of what is good about America."

huh?

how soon is too soon to make a joke about terrorism?

without getting into the length of time post-incident being related to the damage extent of the act, i will say, "you have to wait until it's common knowledge."

late on Friday, i said this to the IT guy at work:

"hey, those printer cartridges you ordered from Yemen never arrived."

he and a couple other guys gave me a confused look. none of them had read any news for the day.

timing is everything.

"i would not trust him with my left shoe"

Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, running against Mark Kirk for an Illinois US Senate seat, has an approved vox pop commercial. The people-on-the-street are all saying negative things about Mark Kirk. Pretty typical stuff, "he's out of touch," "how can he vote against middle class tax cuts," and so on.

but the last person says, "i would not trust him with my left shoe."

i'm not sure what she means, and i'm not certain under what circumstances i personally would trust Mr Kirk with my own left shoe. have i removed this shoe for his inspection, such that if he were to abscond with it, i'd be trying to find a way home with only one shoe? is it cold? is there snow? am i driving or taking the el?

serious issues, indeed.

food, inc.

i watched this film today. there's lots to love here: some amazing characters, lovingly shot (even the horrific images), expertly assembled and edited, plus i agree with a lot of the viewpoints of the filmmakers.

but...

there are some missteps. Given the message and those bringing it to us, i guess i shouldn't be surprised the filmmakers' viewpoints are so obvious. i think they overdid it, and an example occurred near the end, in the segment called "the veil." Did they really have to put up the word "evil" first, then re-arrange the letters? So late in the film, i think even the most jaded of viewers will either be disgusted or have convinced themselves the filmmakers are grossly exaggerating. In either case, I don't think it serves any constructive purpose.

my other main complaint was, though they alluded to the health dangers to the public, they never really went after it. The best they did was make the case that, because it's cheaper to eat fast food than buy fresh produce and prepare your own meals, that's unhealthy. But what about establishing a link between consumers' health and the processes used by factory farms, such as GMO, contamination, lack of variety, and nutrient content?

I don't understand the inclusion of the poor Latino family who spends more on diabetes medicine than they do on food, apparently stopping at Burger King twice a day to feed the family. Sad? yes. Sympathetic? certainly. Supporting a point? Not so sure here. This family claims they eat this way because of the low cost of the fast food, but wouldn't it be more compelling to profile a middle-class family that has a choice, and still chooses to eat fast food? I think so.

And again, all that was illustrated here is that cheap fast food is: cheap. Big deal. I say make an effort to tie the factory farming practices to an epidemic of ill health, and you'll make a much bigger, and much more necessary, point.

raw milk sting

link

The above description is a dramatization of real events that happened recently in Springfield, Missouri, where the state has decided to spend considerable taxpayer resources running a sting operating against a family that was caught dealing -- gulp! -- raw milk in a parking lot.

Yes, both the Missouri Dept. of Health and the state Attorney General (Chris Koster) have decided that prosecuting a farm family for illegally "trafficking" raw milk should be at the top of their list of priorities. The family being targeted by state officials is the Bechard family, of Armand and Teddi Bechard, and their children Joseph, Hananiah, Kazia and Katie.

The name of the cow offering the milk is reportedly "Misty."

Not the best-written article, but worth a read. along with the Illinois law prohibiting farmers from selling non-frozen meat at farmers' markets (in addition to the IL law prohibiting the sale of raw milk), I have to wonder if there isn't some lobbying pressure being applied by the factory farming industry.

call me a conspiracist...

why are goods so inexpensive?

from Home Depot today, i bought a 25' outdoor extension cord and a can of black spraypaint. with tax, it was $6.23.

from Microcenter, i bought a tiny screwdriver set, packaged as a pocket pen. it was 79 cents, pre-tax.

these items are worth more to me than what I paid for them. i'd pay $20 for a good 25' extension cord. for a good set of screwdrivers, i'd be happy to pay $15. i have no issue with the quality of the these items, i simply think they're underpriced.

i assume i'm "benefiting" from cheap overseas labor and lax environmental laws, if not in the US then elsewhere. but i have to think "this'll hurt come winter." at a minimum, there's really no consumer downside to seeing these things as disposable.

this practice seems highly unsustainable to me.

of palin and jefferson

amusing piece in the New Yorker, here.

Here’s Jefferson on political change:

Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Here’s Palin on same:

Government’s supposed to serve from the bottom up and not move towards this top-down, big-government takeover, but rather will be protectors of individual rights, who also have enough common sense to acknowledge when conditions have drastically changed, and they’re willing to call an audible and pass the ball when it’s time so the team can win.

can i not get fresh meat?

according to one of the farmers at a farmers' market today, Chicago has an ordinance which prevents the sale of non-frozen meat at farmers' markets. I can't find a reference to this anywhere, but from what i've seen offered, it seems to hold true.

an apparent workaround is to arrange sale of the product ahead of time (e.g. purchasing online), and then "merely" picking up your fresh meat at the next market.

but in an era of refrigeration technology, why does it need to be so cumbersome? exactly which prior problem did this ordinance "solve"?

....

I'm not much a milk drinker these days, but the gf did score some whole, pastured milk today. I just tried it and, oh boy, is it tasty. Anyone know if this is a good source of K2?

progress on the highspeed rail front, with Chicago as a hub?

link

An agreement signed today seeking to fast-track high-speed passenger rail projects in the Midwest has three powerful engines pulling in its favor: the Obama administration, the clout of congressional delegations from eight states and the support of the nation's freight railroads.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and the City of Chicago entered into a memorandum of understanding that commits the governments to coordinate plans to develop 110-mile-per-hour rail corridors across the Midwest.

[...]

Several governors mentioned President Barack Obama's strong support for the Midwest high-speed rail initiative, which would be comprised of a network based in Chicago and eventually branch out 3,000 miles over nine states.

But the first priority is to operate faster trains from Chicago to St. Louis; to Detroit/Pontiac; and to Milwaukee/Madison, Wis., within three to five years. Preliminary cost estimates total about $4 billion.

looks promising?

chilly in july?

i've always thought the greatest perception crime against global warming was its name. "global climate change" is a little more all-encompassing. heck, i liked the term Greenhouse Effect, but it didn't really catch on.

is that why it's chilly today? dunno, but i did just buy this smashing new hoody.

urban eyechart

as found in Rogers Park...

palin resignation speech

did anyone see/hear this? it was incomprehensible. fragments of talking points mixed with non-nonsensical sports metaphors. i have no idea what she's doing next (this reads to me more as leaving politics than re-entering the national stage), and this speech certainly didn't have any kind of focus which i thought propelled her to her next position.

i've read speculation that an imminent news cycle is going to have something unpleasant about her; can't say i disagree.

Land of Lincoln

i think it's time for Illinois to change its motto: "Land of Lanky Presidents"

pizza delivery

saw a pizza delivery guy this week driving a BMW 7 series. sign of the times? idiocy? had to borrow the owner's car? the driver looked 20 -- perhaps it was a high school graduation gift.

what's worse? a BMW 7 series driven by a 20 year old, or the same car smelling like pizza?

Lewis Carroll notwithstanding...

found here, the following is from a statement made by a panel of the Appeals Court in the DC Circuit ruling on a habeas review for a Guantanamo prisoner:

Lewis Carroll notwithstanding, the fact the government has 'said it thrice' does not make an allegation true.

Down the rabbit hole indeed. but in a direction i'm liking.

We have glorified brutality and demonized compassion

from here:

This is the legacy of the Bush administration, and likely the one that will stick long past the other violations of law or ethics. We have glorified brutality, and demonized compassion, and sought to make pariahs out of any that object. And, as a society, we have accepted these premises, and adapted them into our culture, and made them American.

I think the phrase i used as the title really kinda captures it.