Industrialized Cyclist Notepad


October 2021 VMT

United States, FHA. Cra-a-a-zy.



Dual-Mode Vehicle in Japan
December 24, 2021, 14:34
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,

Looks like something that could have been invented in the 1890s (and probably was). Not high tech, but maybe that’s good. Maybe leaving tires on the train will make Americans more likely to use it. Put some sidepipes on it and a hood scoop.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/bus-or-train-worlds-first-dual-mode-vehicle-begin-operating-japan-2021-12-24/



IEA Predicts World Will Burn Record Amount of Fossil Fuels for Electricity Generation This Year

The more we talk about it, the worse it gets.



Airlines Concerned 5G Spectrum Rollout Will Affect Instruments
December 20, 2021, 10:40
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

Reuters (@Reuters) tweeted at 7:25 PM on Wed, Dec 15, 2021:



Changing Predictions About Peak Oil Demand

A Rigzone article about Bloomberg investor surveys that show a shift in Peak Demand predictions this year even as EV sales surge. Here’s the meat of it:

https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/when_might_oil_demand_peak-09-dec-2021-167259-article/



Sunday Night Live

Local news reporting that 600–800 street racers were out systematically blocking I-225 tonight, between Alameda and Colfax (about 2 miles of freeway in the east Denver suburbs). One night after a large outdoor party-riot in Boulder ended with the smashing of the police armored vehicle that was summoned to quash the riot.



In 2020, Traffic fatalities up, while VMT down

That’s strikingly bad. Total fatalities up 8% over 2019, while fatality rate per vmt rose 24% by one estimate.

Source: Driving Was Down In 2020, But Traffic Fatality Rates Surged : NPR



Two Uncontained Engine Failures on Boeing Jets in One Day

Not just the incident over Broomfield, Colorado, but this one also (via airlive.net):

“A Longtail Aviation Boeing 747-400F diverted to Liege after one of the engine’s caught fire, sending out a loud bang.

The aircraft was operating flight LGT5504 from Maastricht Aachen Airport to New York. The aircraft departed from Maastricht at 4:11 pm.

After its engine caught fire and lost pieces of turbine blades shortly after departure, the aircraft entered into a holding pattern at 10,000 feet and diverted to Liege Airport.”

https://www.airlive.net/breaking-turbine-blades-of-a-boeing-747-400fs-engine-fell-on-several-parked-cars/



Texas Governor Blames Power Outages on Wind, Solar

…says the failure of renewable energy caused the emergency and that this shows the Green New Deal would be a disaster. He did not actually blame the outages on the Green New Deal as many have said. But he was shoveling pretty hard nonetheless.

Katie Shepherd, Wash Post Feb 17 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/17/texas-abbott-wind-turbines-outages/

blah blah



The Pandemic and VMT

Revisiting Vehicle Miles Traveled after several years of looking away in absolute disgust. Below is the moving 12-month average, latest month recorded is November 2020.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/tvt.cfm



Fernando Alonso

F1 driver hit by car while cycling in Switzerland, according to unconfirmed reports, but conscious. And “well in himself.” This is supposedly a statement from his team:



Dimensions of Speed Humps

Of course there are several different types of vertical deflection, with variable effectiveness. The most effective are taller and steeper. The least effective types are most in vogue for reasons you can probably guess. Sorry I don’t have the source for this in front of me.

P.S. One speed hump costs about 2K$, roughly 1/8 the cost of a mini roundabout. By all indications they are far more effective traffic calmers than are mini roundabouts.



RTD Report Finds 40% of Parking Around Transit Stations Unused

PDF: https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/12/RTD-Residential-TOD-Parking-Study.pdf



Mauritius Oil Spill in August Caused by Ship’s Captain Seeking Better Cell Phone Coverage Closer to Shore
December 18, 2020, 17:08
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Not a joke. And 4 people died trying to clean it up.
Source Reuters: https://t.co/GIlqODrdP9?amp=1



Uber Dumps Self-Driving Car Operation

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js



Almost 2,000 Shipping Containers Lost at Sea

A storm tossed the containership ONE and dumped almost 2,000 containers into the ocean, including some containing hazardous materials. The ship lumbered into port in Kobe, Japan on December 8, 2020.

Image

via

ももかまる

🍑

⚓️ (@mrnkA4srnrA) tweeted at 8:28 PM on Mon, Dec 07, 2020:
ONE APUS目当てに報道?のカメラマンわりとおったけどどっかで流れたりする? https://t.co/NV0dD9lkUA
(https://twitter.com/mrnkA4srnrA/status/1336150591031001089?s=03)



Sales of SUVs, pickups in Colorado surged in September 
October 30, 2017, 11:29
Filed under: Uncategorized

14.5% since last year, even though gas prices rose a bit in that time.

Source: Sales of SUVs, pickups in Colorado surged in September – Denver Business Journal



Chrysler has been Rolling Coal on America
May 27, 2017, 01:01
Filed under: Uncategorized

A company that failed a few times and exists today only because of taxpayer billions, now owned by Fiat and making most of its products in Mexico, further expresses its gratitude by filling American air with as much poison as it possibly can.

In 2015 and 2016, the company sold more than 50,000 diesel Ram 1500 pickups a year in the United States, making it by far the largest-selling diesel-powered light vehicle in the country.

Each one of them equipped with emissions-cheating software.



Uber suspends self-driving car program after Arizona crash
March 25, 2017, 14:15
Filed under: Uncategorized

Self-driving car tech not yet living up to all the collision-avoidance hype.

Source: Uber suspends self-driving car program after Arizona crash | Reuters

Mentioned Uber’s move to AZ here.



Hey Denver People Are Your Lungs Burning?
March 19, 2017, 10:32
Filed under: Uncategorized

At least two major blasts of SO2 into Denver’s air by the Suncor refinery within the past 6 months, caused by power outages at the plant. Two that were disclosed that exceeded local and federal standards. SO2 hurts lungs and it ruins plants and trees.

Sulfur Dioxide Basics | Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Pollution | US EPA

[…]

What are the health effects of SO2?

Short-term exposures to SO2 can harm the human respiratory system and make breathing difficult. Children, the elderly, and those who suffer from asthma are particularly sensitive to effects of SO2.SO2 emissions that lead to high concentrations of SO2 in the air generally also lead to the formation of other sulfur oxides (SOx). SOx can react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form small particles. These particles contribute to particulate matter (PM) pollution: particles may penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs and cause additional health problems.

Source: Sulfur Dioxide Basics | Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Pollution | US EPA