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.

Car Damage

My car survived 16 months of Pennsylvania roads and Philly drivers without so much as a scratch. That includes surviving my first commutes in snow.

Then I moved to little Austin, Texas. Sure, the highways and feeder roads are (very) poorly planned, unable to support the city's rapid growth. Central Austin has an increasing population density, and there's just not enough space for all those cars.

But in comparison with urban areas in the Northeast, driving here is a total breeze. I can get anywhere in less than 20 minutes, and I spend the majority of my time in a 7 mile radius. It's not that hard to get around this city.

But in the last six months, my car has suffered:

• A stolen stereo, which I have yet to replace. So there's a gaping hole in my dashboard. The stereo wasn't in great condition and I never got good radio reception, so in some ways, I think the joke is on them. However, I'm still not quite used to driving in silence.
• A dent on the back passenger's side door, thanks to a dent-and-run by a tipsy asshole at Polvo's. (A very nice woman watched him do it and tried to get his license number, but he drove off too soon. Apparently, he got out of the car, surveyed the damage had a moment of moral crisis, and then drove off. Jerk.)
• Most recently, a broken driver's side door handle. However, I blame this on years of use, rather than the city of Austin. My car just gets more and more pathetic. I'm now exiting on the passenger side. At least I can still open it on the outside...