Bikers

Bikers. Can I just say, as a regular pedestrian, how much bicyclists in the city piss me off sometimes? Most cyclists are fine and obey traffic rules, but there are also those who zip through red lights when I’m about to enter the crosswalk and those who zoom down one-way streets going in the wrong direction and nearly run me over because I’m looking in the direction from which traffic is supposed to come. (The latter are usually deliverymen.)

I get the impression that these people think they’re so superior because they’re not polluting the atmosphere by driving a car and they’re getting some exercise, too. They need to realize that although they are not drivers, they are not pedestrians, either. Cars can kill cyclists, but cyclists can seriously hurt pedestrians.

It’s like the old cartoons where dog > cat > mouse. The car is the dog and the bike is the cat and I’m the mouse. Cyclists need to remember that they’re in the middle of the food chain, not at the bottom.

2016 Olympics

Chicago’s out of contention for the Olympics. It would have been nice to get them, but did we really need to have the Olympics here in the U.S. again? Most recently, we’ve hosted it in 2002, 1996, 1984, and 1980. I was against New York’s 2012 bid, and I live here. Shouldn’t other countries get a chance? I think it’s pure American arrogance to think we deserve it again so soon.

If I were Obama, I wouldn’t have gone to Copenhagen. It’s not like the American people would criticize him for staying in Washington and blame him for losing us the Olympics. How many of us really care that much about having the Olympics here when we have so many problems to deal with right now?

On the other hand, most of those who criticize Obama for going already hate him anyway. Obama spent just a few hours on the ground in Copenhagen. Air Force One is a flying Oval Office. While on board, the president met with Stanley McChrystal, head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It’s not like he was partying.

Still, I would have stayed home. He had nothing to gain from going to Copenhagen and plenty to lose.

NYC Runoff

Today I voted in the New York City Democratic primary runoff. I’d never voted in a runoff election before. There was hardly anyone at my voting place.

I voted for Bill de Blasio for Public Advocate and David Yassky for City Comptroller.

Polls close at 9 p.m.