Stupidness just got stupider

I just want to point out – since we humans think we’re so smart – that every single time we invent something that’s going to supposedly make our lives better, it herds in a whole flock of new problems we didn’t have before it was invented. And usually no one wants to look at those because they’re too busy playing with the new toy, and if somebody starts pointing out the new problems that go with the toy, that person immediately get called a giant party poop.

In today’s Oregonian there’s an article called “Message not getting through on texting,” about the atrociously absurd activity of text messaging on a cell phone while driving. If we thought TALKING on a cell phone while driving was bad -- if we thought cars were death machines already – wait’ll you read this. The chances of getting slaughtered by a car just went up by the number of people out there doing this – which is astoundingly high.

As bicyclists, we’re the ones most vulnerable to this kind of stupid behavior. (Weirdly, I’ve seen people using their cell phones while cycling. You’d think the innate two-handedness of cycling would preclude anyone even thinking of that, but no.) I highlight this today because here’s a-whole-nother set of weirdoes we have to watch out for as cyclists. Our lives are in their hands, and I’m not liking it one bit. Makes me feel like curling up into a fetal position on a small residential street. If you see me, please pedal around, not over.