danielo

"Problem? What problem?"
I drive safely, I stop at all the lights. No problem.

"I'm not THAT bad!"
I don't drive that much! Just to work, and the gym, and for groceries,
and the occasional movie, and the park, and ...

"I'm not hurting anybody but myself!"
I could use the money for something else, but choose to spend it on
gas. I'm not hurting anyone else.

"You're not so pure yourself!"
When everyone else stops driving, I'll think about it.

"I can stop any time I want to!"
If I wanted to, I could leave the car at home. I just don't feel like it.

"Now is not a good time to stop!"
I have so much going on in the summer, with the kids, and activities,
there's just no way I could do it now.

"Nobody is going to tell ME what to do!"
My father fought for my right to drive this truck! Lay off hippies!

"I'd be OK if it weren't for you!"
Things were fine before you bicycle-loving freaks started getting preachy.

"I don't have time (or money) to get help!"
I don't have a bike, and those things are thousands of dollars!

I found every single quote above from a website listing excuses
alcoholics and other addicts use to talk their way out of admitting
they have a problem. And every single one of them comes with a
frequently-heard excuse offered by automobile addicts as to why they
don't have a problem.

Loading mentions Retweet

1926: Ford Model-A gets up to 30 miles per gallon.
2008: Car makes tout their amazing fuel efficiency - 30 MPG.
2008: People ignore their automobile addictions.

Loading mentions Retweet

I already posted this basic idea at the old blog (link in right
sidebar), but I have been thinking more and more about it lately, and
post is a bit more fleshed-out.

Where "we" are the ones trying to convince others to give up their
automobile addictions, it must be admitted that "we" are failing. Our
efforts to educate others about the benefits of the non-car-centric
lifestyle are fruitless simply because everyone already knows. Every
American adult with an IQ of at least 60 knows that personal
automobiles are selfish, excessive, and harmful to the environment,
and those same people know there are numerous options available to
them besides single-occupancy vehicles. All of our clever ads have
done nothing. The only thing that finally got more people on their
bikes lately was gas topping $4/gallon.

When we keep telling people what they already know, we're merely
patronizing them like children, and it should come as no surprise that
they act in kind. It's time we stopped treating people like helpful
infants and instead insist they start acting like responsible adults.
It's time to change our message:

LEAVE YOUR CAR AT HOME. And before you start your typical
avoid-the-topic blather ("but I don't know how to get to work, I don't
know the bus routes, it's too far to ride a bike... blah blah blah"),
here's a news flash: YOU'RE NOT A BABY ANYMORE, and it's not our job
to change your diaper. Buck up and FIGURE IT OUT.

Loading mentions Retweet

I was offered -- and agreed -- to move back into my old position at
work, in inside sales. I've been doing AP/AR for over a year, and
frankly, I hate it. I have learned, in my old age, that I like
situations that are ever-changing, even a bit hectic. I don't deal
well with numbers and paperwork and monotony and oh my. And I also
happen to be rather good at customer service, which I do miss from
sales. My days, which now feel like they last 12 hours, should start
feeling like 8 hours again either at the end of this week, or the
beginning of next week.

Loading mentions Retweet

Here's how Sagan and I got Steph's bike up to her at work on Sunday.
Our longest train yet is me, Sagan on a tag-a-long, a kid-trailer
attached to that, and Steph's bike with front wheel locked into the
trailer, with rear tire trailing. Worked like a charm.

( this post mirrored at http://danielo.org/blog )

Loading mentions Retweet

On Saturday, Sagan and I went downtown for the Boise Twilight
Criterium, which he and I can report was AWESOME. He rode in the kid's
ride with Kristan Armstrong, then we went back downtown for the
women's and men's rides.

( originally posted here: http://danielo.org/blog )

     

Loading mentions Retweet

Perhaps you're not listening closely.

When I say "Maybe you don't need an automobile," and you hear, "Maybe
you can live your present selfish and unplanned lifestyle without the
crutch it's built around," -- that's evidence that you must have axle
grease in your ears.

I am fairly certain that you can't, actually, continue to live your
car-addicted lifestyle and give up your automobile addiction. You also
can't give up snorting cocaine and still snort cocaine -- that doesn't
make sense. But I am also certain that you might very well not need
that automobile. Maybe you just need to embrace the fact that a better
life, free of automobile addiction, is not only feasible, but also
rewarding, and perhaps even exemplary.

And before you start your whining about how hard it would be, I offer:

YOU'RE NOT A BABY, QUIT YOUR WHINING AND BUCK UP.

Walk. Ride a bike. Take the bus. Carpool. Vanpool. Just leave the
goddamn car at home!

Loading mentions Retweet