Some Things Annoying Me Lately

1) Governor Rick Perry is at it again. This time, he vetoed a bill that would require drivers to actually to be safer when driving near cyclists and pedestrians. How are people to be encouraged to get out of their cars if they don't even feel safe on the roads? I say this as a novice road cyclist who is deathly afraid of motor traffic. I would like to become less reliant on my car, but I don't feel comfortable. This bill would encourage people like me to get out of our cars and our on bikes. That would better for Texas, Perry, but you're probably too much in bed with oil and car companies to care about your citizens' safety. I can't wait for the next gubernatorial election...

2) A local food blogger has decided to change her name because a major corporation has gone after her for copyright infringement. She hasn't outed the company, although I wish I knew who it was so I could write them a nasty letter for going after such a little guy. I'm sure she's trying to minimize the damage and not cause any unnecessary trouble, but this is ridiculous. I'm all in favor of people protecting their intellectual property. However, this isn't so much a case of First Amendment rights as one about a corporation creating a witch hunt to "protect its brand." I don't think this is what the writers of the Constitution had in mind when they instituted freedom of speech. The plus side is that a lot more people are reading her blog now.

[A similar case has come up against local rollergirl Crackerjack. Frito-Lay (owner of Cracker Jack snacks) is suing her for stealing their name. Also ridiculous and unnecessary.]

3) This is far less political. I'm in general annoyed with people's lack of cell phone ettiquette. Can't you shut up long enough to place an order? I'll probably return to this in a few days. For now, I just feel better ranting all these things to my gracious audience.

Give a Girl on a Bike a Break

Thanks to the lovely weather yesterday (lovely: not 90+ degrees), I went on a bike ride with my roommate and a friend around the East Side. As we were making our way back home, some asshole threw an unopened can of beer at my roommate, hitting her ankle and bike frame and spraying open. He managed to throw that sucker over a fence, but I still can't figure out what his motive was. He yelled something at her, but I didn't catch it because I was desperately peddling to pass a bus before it moved into the bike lane for a stop.

So was he just being an obnoxious drunk or is this another example of drivers' embittered resentment against cyclists?