Your feng shui is off

Martha was killed by a driver in a purple 4-door sedan for which police are still searching. If you have any information, please call police at 911, or The Martha Gonzalez Memorial Committee at 312-203-4986. There's a reward for information that leads to the conviction of the driver.

Pedestrian fatalities in the past 30 days:
-Martha Gonzalez, Tuesday, October 13th, 1700 S Halsted Street. Driver at large.
-Larry Nelson, Saturday, October 17th, 1100 S Cicero Avenue. Driver at large.
-Kim Brown (pregnant), 50 N Kostner Avenue (her child was delivered via Caesarean section but died). Driver (James Cox) arrested and charged with aggravated driving under the influence.
-Rachel Gilliam, Sunday, November 1st, 4300 N Lincoln Avenue. Driver at large.

Pedestrian injuries recently:
-Three teenagers (most likely UIC students), Saturday, September 26th, 1220 S Halsted Street (right across from James Stukel Towers dormitory). Driver at large.

Please read what Tom Vanderbilt is writing about jaywalking on Slate.

I can transport all of these groceries on a single bike.

Did you ever see this photo of me and a big train?
It rocks.

I'm touching my favorite bike in the world, a WorkCycles Fr8.

My helmet and jacket look to be colored from the same dye.

I like this picture.

This bike looks gorgeous.
Do I really want to sell it?

I planned, setup, then executed an enjoyable, successful, and delicious cookie competition at work.

It was just judged by a long-time baker, the Deputy Commissioner of CDOT, the Pedestrian Program Coordinator, and my boss (representing the Bike Program), a foodie.

Nike posted a printed list of the names of all the 35,000 people who ran the Chicago 2009 Marathon yesterday, including Jason Saavedra's.

While I was locking my bike at the bike rack here, a lady asked me to take her photo with this sign in the background. I asked her what was happening. She told me, and I asked if she ran. She said she did, and I said that was cool. She couldn't have been more excited about me asking about this sign, asking her if she ran, and saying it was cool that she ran. Oh, and I guess she was excited she ran a freakin' marathon :)

At Niketown on North Michigan Avenue.

Someone uses Facebook to try and sell me gay friendly first aid cream from Europe.
WTF is that?

Someone please help me understand this.

Just wow.

I took a trip alone to Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, to celebrate Labor Day, go trainspotting, and bicycling.

This is the first of many posts I'll make from the trip.

I rented my bike from Midtown Bike Center on the Midtown Greenway in the Midtown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I locked it up outside the Franklin Avenue light rail station, which I boarded and traveled to the Mall of America and back here. I picked up the bike and rode around some more.

I reluctantly enjoyed the bike - the Center had only this bike remaining for someone my size. I felt very uncomfortable riding it, but not as uncomfortable as I feel on my own Raleigh Rush Hour. After arriving home Monday night, I jumped on my Nishiki cargo/party bike and felt right at home, on a comfortable seat at a comfortable height with handlebars coming towards me instead of me leaning towards them.

Oh, check out those sweet Kryptonite combination cable locks. They had a dumb combination. I asked for a u-lock, but they denied me that and instead gave me a second cable lock. All this for a bike for which I paid a $540 refundable deposit. Ugh. Thankfully, no one stole it, I returned it Monday morning, and my 24-hour rental cost only $46.

I wanted to ride around the city on my bike with a GPS device that would track my every move.

As you can see in the picture, my results tell me something interesting: skyscrapers block GPS transmission.

I returned the device.

Someone in Toronto had a more successful outcome.

I want to be a model.
Should I include this photo in my application?

I test rode this bike yesterday (Saturday) at Dutch Bike Chicago on Armitage in Lincoln Park, Chicago.

I love this bike. I like it better than the bakfiets and Transport, two other bikes from this store I've test ridden. It's more comfortable to ride, and easier to ride. The other two are wobbly at the start - this one isn't (I think this might have a little to do with the handlebars). It costs a lot, too.

I want to also test ride the Secret Service. I'm waiting for them to build it.

This was definitely the highlight of my day. I came straight here after helping my sister move to a new apartment (that story is pretty perfect, too; it couldn't have gone better).

President Barack Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sergeant James Crowley toast at the start of their meeting in the Rose Garden of the White House, July 30, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

This photo is gonna be the biggest charade of the week for the president. His bad.

Do bakfiets and enormous SUVs belong together?
Read the discussion. You decide.