"For adult use only"...that *is* just a microphone, isn't it?

GOOD MORNING ALL - I'M SURPRISED CHILIS OR ***LEBEES OR SOMEOTHERSUCH HADN'T TRADEMARKED *** FIRST. I GUESS THEY FLAKED ON THEIR ***LICATIONS.

GOOD MORNING SMIRK AND BLOGTOWNEES!

HAS ANYONE SEEN THE NEW BIKE SIGNAL AT BROADWAY & WILLIAMS? WILL IT FINALLY CURE ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS IN PORTLAND? OR WILL IT FAIL MISERABLY LIKE THE PSU SEPARATED BIKE LANE?

GM BT!!!!!!

PROTIP: MENTION THAT THE MERC IS LIVE BLOGGING SOMETHING IN GMN! I ALMOST MISSED LAST NIGHT'S BLAZER LB-ING AND I DID MISS DENNIS LB-ING THE GOVERNOR'S DEBATE.

Howdy Sarah.

Isn't making every bus late just business as usual at TriMet?

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!

I WROTE OUT A LONG AND REALLY FUNNY COMMENT. THEN MY BROWSER CRASHED. FUCK THAT NOISE.

@ STU: IT WASN'T THERE YESTERDAY, THAT'S ON MY COMMUTE HOME, AND I'VE NEVER SEEN A CLOSE CALL THERE, THOUGH THE PEOPLE TURNING RIGHT ON RED TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY SOMETIMES DON'T LOOK PROPERLY. DO THEY HAVE ONE OF THOSE "NO RIGHT TURN" FLASHING THINGIES THAT BARELY WORKS TO STOP TURNERS AT THE INTERSTATE/STEEL BRIDGE TERMINUS INTERSECTION?

DMITRIR +1

BLOGTOWN! HI!

HOW LONG UNTIL BARS START TARGETING PREGNANT LADIES WITH HAPPY HOURS AND SPECIALTY NIGHTS?

THE EMBRYONIC AND TONIC?
THE ONE FOR TWO SPECIAL?
PLACENTINI?
SPERM-IN-EGG NOG?

@CC: I WOULDN'T SAY THAT "NO RIGHT TURN" FLASHING THINGIE BARELY WORKS TO STOP TURNERS. I WOULDN'T SAY THAT BECAUSE HERE IS THE DATA FROM A STUDY DONE BY PSU CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN 2006: "FOR THE COUNTS COMPLETED IN THIS PROJECT, THERE WERE 30 ILLEGAL RIGHT TURNS FOR 895 SCRAMBLE SIGNALS ACTIVATED, OR 3.3%." SO THAT SEEMS TO WORK OKAY. AND I'M GUESSING THIS RATE HAS IMPROVED OVER TIME, AS PEOPLE GET MORE FAMILIAR WITH IT.

@STU: WHERE IS YOUR DATA FOR HOW/WHY THE PSU SEPARATED BIKE LANE "DOES NOT WORK"? I DON'T BELIEVE YOU.

STEVE JOBS - FOOOK UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
I COULD USE THAT O-BOMB MASK AT THE "RALLY FOR SANITY" THE MERCURY HAS NO INTEREST IN........

@ROM: PURELY ANECDOTAL. I'VE SEEN MULTIPLE PASSENGER-SIDE CAR DOORS OPENING AND CAUSING NEAR MISSES. AND IT'S A NIGHTMARE WHEN YOU GET TO AN INTERSECTION WHEN CARS AND PEDESTRIANS DON'T SEE BIKES COMING BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT EXPECTING THEM. IT WOULD ONLY WORK IF THERE WERE A MEDIAN BUT NO PARKED CARS (AS THEY DO IN THE NETHERLANDS, WHICH WOLD BE MY PREFERRED SOLUTION THERE), OR IF THEY WERE COMMON ENOUGH AROUND TOWN FOR PEOPLE TO BE USED TO THEM (WHICH WOULD TAKE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND HUGE POLITICAL WILL WHEN THERE ARE EASIER AND CHEAPER SOLUTIONS). I LOVE THE FACT THAT THEY TRIED IT, BUT IT'S TIME TO ADMIT THAT NOT ALL EXPERIMENTS WORK.

GOOD MORNING. OPEN LETTER TO RADIO PLEDGE DRIVES: SHUT THE FUUUUUUUUUUCK UP.

GOOD MORNING BEEZIES! I HAVE TO GO TO IKEA TODAY. I WONDER IF THEY HAVE AN OBAMA HALLOWEEN MASK AND IF SO WHAT WOULD THEY CALL IT IN IKEA LANGUAGE?

OBAMACK!?

@ ROM: THE STEEL BRIDGE TERMINUS ONE WORKS OBVIOUSLY IN PART BECAUSE OF THE SIGN, BUT ALSO BECAUSE AT PEAK TIMES THERE ARE MASSIVE CROWDS OF BIKES PRESENT WAITING TO CROSS, RIGHT NEXT TO THE WOULD-BE RIGHT TURNERS, AND THAT GETS DRIVERS' ATTENTIONS. MORE BIKES ON THE ROAD IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE DRIVERS PAY MORE ATTENTION TO BIKES.

AT THE RIGHT TURN ON WESTBOUND BROADWAY AT WILLIAMS, THE BIKERS ARE COMING FROM A SEMI-BLIND CORNER ACROSS 5 LANES OF TRAFFIC, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOMEONE TRYING TO SNEAK IN A QUICK RIGHT TURN. IT'S JUST MY GUESS IT WILL THUS BE LESS EFFECTIVE.

@ ROM, AND OF COURSE, I'M ONLY SPEAKING FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS A NORTHBOUND WILLIAMS COMMUTER. ANECDOTALLY THOUGH, I NEVER SEE ANYONE BIKING WESTBOUND ON BROADWAY AT THAT POINT (AND GOOD FOR THEM, SINCE THAT'S A DANGEROUS AREA). AT ANY RATE, THEY ARE A TRICKLE COMPARED TO MY FELLOW NORTHBOUNDERS.

@CC: I'VE HUNG OUT AT THE INTERSECTION ON BROADWAY, AND WOULD SEE (NO JOKE) NEAR-COLLISIONS BETWEEN CYCLISTS GOING STRAIGHT AND RIGHT-TURNING CARS AT THE RATE OF ABOUT 1 EVERY TEN MINUTES. IT'S FREAKY. I DON'T KNOW IF A SCRAMBLE IS THE ANSWER.

@STU: I HEAR YA. YOU ARE MAKING THE SENSE. MY FAVORITE IS WHEN DRIVERS PULL UP BEHIND ONE OF THE PARKED CARS, THINKING IT'S A LANE. THEN THEY JUST SIT THERE AND HONK.