A reminder for you that the scale of the tragedy in Belgium occurs four times a day, every single day of the year, on U.S. roads and highways. I'm not denying that this isn't newsworthy and that mass transportation shouldn't be safer, but I would like to inject a little perspective into it.

Elsewhere
Bicleta Bandita takes the lane on Mission Street Santa Cruz and discovers it's not so bad.

Jim Langley reviews a new book about Major Taylor. Biking Bis also looked at this book a short time back.

Fruitvale BART: Tour de Taco, Saturday, February 20th at 11:00.

Bay Guardian: "$840 a year to ride Muni? Save your cash -- buy a bike!"

Riding Pretty Tweed Limerick.

Take the lane legal victory in Columbus, Ohio.

Nitwit Illinois politician protests safe driving and saving lives.

Kate Hudson, yet again, on a bicycle.

Normally hyper-intelligent robots terrify me, but this little guy has officially won me over. It uses Lego Mindstorms parts, a Lego programmable robotics kit and—of all things—a Nokia N95 mobile phone to unlock the mysteries of Rubik.

It's by no means the first Rubik's Cube solver we've seen, but it's definitely the first I've encountered that runs on phone. The ARM-packing Nokia N95 rests above the cube, scanning it with its camera as it solves. Double bonus points for working with a 4x4x4 Cube instead of the standard 3x3x3.

According to one intrepid YouTube commenter, the trial above took 15 minutes and 109 moves, which is more than my personal best of "a few months" and "I lost track." I just hope that when we're all assigned a robot overlord, mine is as neat as this one. [Make via Geekosystem]

Brian Barrett097335556837405436931809006818133431880306738176906712779362060473955227715688841345558943704998446806417453474026957612030352238674914053210616678846672885372606882198931490155712078648048022232683031080840420814059647602586927902414368065020607021600817012130119485657681932763505988605746075825440003636474794705194341256453091593152493706120463658929588988166110952420843288710331133566243004630916453679326651861173174451593819678703151073698383161682156701846257053010251773087738757673000912390386683953766222801009665742628675435038023857809235430941280159320068753667503806324049160846053421169026482889326021551365869664375748066118401449782394634260018770304371357067851581054089904799757816179074340656630057059308982912727321881595708995115329551716042737928289788804103996689091820753911494087429492787324806878388348202866477086716614883768938200915638351008654548811357199450723838060096155207287514885780151335744682157768212423756733032620137088845747865756052620932709458936989483307767527910066862767054502998795984224541635031371779280451417839273362508023430181204687090654377301564127896221878591110434923705196586092

There are times when I let my voicemail fill up to the point of callers getting the "Sorry. Mailbox is full. Please try again." message. This is why.

Click on the image for a closer look.

Look, I'll return missed calls even if you don't command me to do so, I promise. Unless you're annoying. [Doghouse Diaries]

Rosa Golijan13345519443336942279059276505231182008301464689570088681984507733732329485512715172589457145228223580303522386749140532106166788466728853726073801936052138222421543001394792490987815757999357228391845170287743318242500530293076312826717211315998040859808123960102964435294808157661595553872857325469203304521523501158715064643915280713773811575128844440748191405688820367734489748071140307156805502660986101037899953698515837023705693306524146405945389701988610154734611445737612209195829306316492956009877821391718192220257579446016069296204481231101446385187166163323556351487561635180402860669840407036525858410075368173449072459316758201533622685171252149714228036217996238436182674369184492539660601132935171948697804111576031221259991178503601656638408540302695037603194075602566800282746425717174356717948692781050357398299485199606210616828674850371121051244437969657460360934866243773048744714681165771884237489122393137443850690260088946889758226185917171604555818275292040509340296329961560824862572480183495703743617603342380451103293788284241721441714442098149119090910591183242118872173115835846930924398920067348964506268307616620875086298691205004085963323903669691316439269428308679203372407093723371744068721531933123670881327519000357366426913068893134907015799

There are times when I let my voicemail fill up to the point of callers getting the "Sorry. Mailbox is full. Please try again." message. This is why.

Click on the image for a closer look.

Look, I'll return missed calls even if you don't command me to do so, I promise. Unless you're annoying. [Doghouse Diaries]

Rosa Golijan13345519443336942279125227470257673788000632724617448657572505927650523118200830135124260318334735090315991246850013457914646895700886819845077337323294855127150241232201570885912117258945714522822358024933618644598977260303522386749140532106166788466728853726119528448221898125040929384408946709941407380193605213822242110925628570717476640101055179899819126515430013947924909878157579993572283918451248933038816695291203983898758920589574041051337416138889491803465381207716941304463426133309859690170287743318242500530640405626499603725813284033444264215647018933537801814396390293076312826717211315998040859808123960025159414795052738451029644352948081576615955538728573254692033045215235011587150646439152807137738115751288444407481914056888203677344897480711403071568055026609861010378999536985158370237056933065241015923305559081379114640594538970198861015473461144573761220919582930631649295600987782139171819222025757944601606929620448123110144638518716616332355635148756077906074971867392221634418594991431753616351804028606698404070365258584100753680105134988931196379902939981823120964451173449072459316758201204185566250514613615336226851712521497142280362179962384361581773764168599564908598362121344542398003629322862128622601826743691844925396606011329351719486978020048738112440887641656129522390484935704111576031221259991008618592105697747741785036016566384085407674424186279059011056993462514883564350302695037603194075602566800282746425717174356717948692781050785905511079144819403573982994851996062173055672645325583171061682867485037112105124443796965746036109794388803481765330024518958667963633109348662437730487447156801375292575214661468116577188423748912239313744385069026053855566844971471840088946889758226185917171604555818275292126509712968465946920405093402963299615613204542802665144504082486257248018349570374361760334238045110748865874685971528168748844942024127251206861516535192095407221573910623466059103293788284241721441714442098149119090902478558840097775913

Megatrends 2020 If there is one lesson to be learned from the designers, thinkers and curators presenting at Conversations in Design: A World Without Oil, it is the fact that we need the stuff for a lot of uses far more important than pushing boxes of steel around on roads. When one realizes that we are using a cubic mile of the stuff every year (that is the Eiffel Tower on the right for scale), it becomes pretty obvious that this isn't going to continue forever, and we have to begin to think about what we are going to use it for....Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)

Want to have your mind blown, slightly? Try this:

• Open any YouTube video
• In the video's URL, switch out the "Y" in "Youtube" for a 3
• Ask yourself why you didn't think of this first.

KickYouTube handles video downloads in an equally clever way, and with even more options. [Lifehacker]

John Herrman09733555683740543693176233359294644034200633069829573883973305492094411052606459139103217580149028511346407606733511127017655783612517654961154345946123213735270569688590447960284013454754951040021117005582885769700182040730273053855716187100435779240360818060153067036564348718260105912088888396336909675847840799548710083085504634155788490604466477061973385209293844089467099414118077095750293847320311377793169611381615173051548159514680172656184867655139061089636725968522908512853620446060479235033918713261008696921377833263916264898615403995200875280665050236741677974399021147456043271112201212868785994395435790064643915280713773810053440459931762086315751288444407481914091325952270497564960528674793572994633208297115052593607617047630662829473887111719124374470495377114602109786665128284099099083130268278551469667733320587047607172107649333968093166748291099940646731735892332239701579809868230764115541384103301759046789100590054905097309862697506618084436229051553077906074971867392221206123987854886711800306771517812718533150034157551190385480105134988931196379903789136267301249794113012922344341729430211435773015466915210373899759076777721070818637796854712380392364520779589984713602838735041368401137554143013192043171124390842257384648206217489879713234366174047349449861809471327394647364544344109485475156498354575018462570530102517730204974052268432165808011656643664859200023075703568652774060064769994238057737715435688010106934698041115760312212599910283580047195540467917850360165663840854016997412353146580051465642529552818667203770931757119522509131441274578499865521201862756155751471116902648288932602155055932195859946438571376306459799041387316799753010140920614157211640321727163070279410158475945623613871029312426244207090822071107993587010357398299485199606203284877681940625747092380256300244611110245803842989891012007198944239356967391150893768019514076390150328375770265473000711506866319295781118969956318558774490022209041037808365301556123410855259861

I love this timeline, showing the evolution of Crayola's crayons from 1903—eight colors, including poop—to 120 colors today. Now, imagine PC graphics running on Crayola's Law, which states that the number of hues doubles every 28 years:

Let's take the Color/Graphics Adapter as a starting point. Introduced in 1981, the IBM CGA was capable of displaying four colors in 320 x 240 pixels. Back then, it was all black, cyan, magenta, and white, or black, red, brown, and green. The world looked really bad.

The EGA era—16 colors!—would have arrived in 2037. Fast forward to 2149, and witness the arrival of humans to Jupiter, and Video Graphics Array cards, bringing 256 glorious colors in 320 x 240 pixels. 16-bit color mode and its palette of 65,536 shades would have been enjoyed in 2373.

What about our current 16,777,216-tone palette, the 24-bit RGB color system? Not until the year 2597, people. Terrifying. But then, this slow evolution would have been a small price to pay if our computers always smelled like a fresh box of crayons. [Crayola color timeline by Weathersealed]

Jesus Diaz13910321758014902851176557836125176549610604739552277156888406166788466728853726107193517349945823710855172284750132486606371682053401798851025869279024143680651590013408508286199201883891465775339783098610103789995369850527325344651969823613043380739421254619139429210652622444861619714861071682620016295205755854347882142566978746234963921075176881868208433603311335662430046309023594081505577586430184625705301025177317628804901232124553084289921059520705440593720804373810918313763064597990413873087941844060381842190357398299485199606218232874433370845753182352563192380530140150328375770265473003109654785215269978109794388803481765331831062716994432141700245189586679636331041560828654436597251315066534080185820408248625724801834957110120183709849920920855428158773372099308606682480943006712142964146253057210071749727784920550586302702259836685355265112768202003796119970429766142584926671208722434657743316193054502998795984224540040859633239036696916350313717792804514181204687090654377301326361052252164475910434923705196586092

photo: J.Novak I've written extensively about genetically modified organisms (GMOS). Farmers are essentially giving up the wheel to corporate entities that research, develop, and mass produce seeds. But a recent story on NPR brings to light how rigorous seed licensing is sticking it to the farmer, or their wallet for that matter....Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)

You may have heard this song before, but it's one well worth replaying: the United States imports 4 million barrels of oil a day--adding up to 1.5 billion a year--at a cost of nearly $1 billion a day. That's $1 billion dollars a day that we're sending to nations with governments that are listed as "unstable or dangerous" by the US State Department. This is not a sustainable practice on any level--just look at the infographic above to get a more distinct grasp of how much money we're spending, and where it's going. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)0065880771988871745407939401720003271192077169365393208810650016885485765010133913275190003573664269

Science visualization doesn't get much awesomerer and old school than this. We should put a bunch of these together near the North Pole, to keep the Russians from stealing it. [Caleb Charland courtesy of Michael Mazzeo Gallery—Thanks David ]

Jesus Diaz09733555683740543693139485736921123734501136806053006092382214944892060315330261144299742262838448710756003984141470540406166788466728853726153525038469820756491323352066636461124510142115969955325556157579993572283918451071935173499458237101958797004249998518064643915280713773810768434817850412767100243878702134822917045709916352094278861327273327558640372100123601462952756792026219532904538734900819794932049712846607036525858410075368120690365330590799150834782409576741255108170355103933177844058492463833452002840931472513682399487414064865972237014411159562123855429891231312745483226872444308794184406038184219100116116525587962230273681538579819206411585746249356383351133092742175685330171579785801852532368912501105182565729568107076947229647865241538153962263087689714095270790587424820122393137443850690260948068829503264857305708753747638036978065505941736056668011348643691086596308601513357446821577682038996656587442469301665328233214612006004821883897999386291025231153778569635280937524736829858327214296414625305721007150614237476286603720085048769683100334000408596332390366969055708331966679008021635031371779280451412046210520728084050181204687090654377301043492370519658609218079256592572479943

Matthew Inman, aka "The Oatmeal," is a former web designer turned comic artist. He subsists primarily on a diet of dead crickets and malt liquor. He also thinks that printers have a place in hell right next to unicorns.

Reprinted with permission from Matthew Inman. You can see more of his work on The Oatmeal or in 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth, the comic book which he self published last year.

Matthew Inman01501900472390837468123962642071676767960987997728686824923609733555683740543693024033814771321313361019944618226534794913541887394330472419124099449475486156430550746319538247421010336578380653273864004187277540786457691762333592946440342017266690024131967314063272461744865757250827116114558707751215484060978020830346092737653393048873111153127762557180981805313702890769529008010083778894170977711654803966722527188711021125196135900720032246205628879813601122677749067988700509784926595998358267114146433568999378190594286670798844775414656828985757094252157859642174085107451349597629027476964803066995271496921202021217607362828482780657435633729410075513512426031833473509088023335207025901280285042656468563124908100866127704382194061596772170960451910210714281726216417414106121256890804583141702273468484703901725138781928813294005280694949248607194163069948570756521461134057656142544706715417947548844622119059327033909263865741196217722970505644617324172224357752298000575984058955034350923830280392742917607834943615548975364069787665196040621081356333967982051964207197823505416701935031591729311233721581306302276387603441413210037072282448043060473955227715688841812518683124991089108654934255096673577036408223113349306341467736381539698317214944892060315330261107674980530957496071003366581032197354507560039841414705404028083182979011841621282132321809833556304431359950443700735123752897930618747070983928992650814207314506392408452685105063377331741606187451701089002208418561405408529091953402160163892809206646354920023928317277932080604469394733444431566094681797218529996800929384408946709941415769830188256014479084398907382646553420186992159791489009503113777931696113816063734804379320552620781188479127653601508085172968615153411109545972958908491090614858601198745794311046202214073331937095168095767430941971726561848676551390601010551798998191265076173260385107457501793806412631592793600249767663807526139026036370148279635461684591181995301743101878570166266419226

LA Times Brian noted earlier how Charles Diez got four months in jail for shooting (and barely missing) a cyclist who was in his way, and considered it an embarrassment. In California, they are a bit tougher: In July 2008 Christopher Thompson, passed two cyclists and got in front of them and jammed on the brakes. Ron Peterson went face first into the rear window, breaking his teeth, slicing off his nose, and cutting his face; he needed ninety stiches. He was sentenced last week to five years in prison for mayhem; assault ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)050781834106060348590022241892218376932213275190003573664269

As Agent Smith noted in the Matrix, transcribed by Next Big Future: You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Turns out he's right; according to Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)03077810862505854833

Image via Ubergizmo Hannspree is taking television to a new cuddly level for kids with their latest model sporting a television screen poking out from a polar bear's belly. Is this a reminder that by sitting around watching a television that consumes dirty power from coal plants, you're helping to melt ice caps and kill off your polar bear buddies? ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)

Submitted by: J. Magee via Submit a Kludge!

Favorite Comment: Fixer Violet says, “Oohh! So *that’s* what pirating cable is.”

Image credit: YouTube When I posted a video of unicycling on the streets of Manhattan, responses ranged from outrage at the disregard for road rules, through to wonder and amazement. Yet while we've featured an electric unicycle, and even a tandem unicycle, one-wheeled human powered transport rem...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)

Today’s LOLMart Shirt of the Day is available to purchase THROUGH SUNDAY ONLY, and then it will be gone forever!

Merry Christmas, FAILBloggers!

As you sift through the wreckage of another year’s Christmas, we hope you got just what you wanted. But maybe some of you just aren’t happy with the pair of light up socks given to you by your grandmother. Others may not be thrilled with the Taylor Swift CD Santa stuffed into your stocking.

If this sounds like you, don’t allow yourself to get down. Don’t file this year under Christmas FAIL just yet! LOLMart shirts is here for you, and this week’s featured shirt, Long Cat to Scale, could surely erase the sour memories of gift FAILS. Treat yourself or someone else to a limited edition Long Cat shirt.

How can you say no to a cat that loooooong? You have to admit, he’s pretty impressive.

LOLMart t-shirts are priced at only $15 (that includes FREE US ground shipping!) and make the perfect holiday gift for a friend (or for yourself).

Image from Do the Green Thing For those of you in the last throes of Christmas shopping, here's the answer to what you could get the remaining few on your list, and it is available on Amazon, oops, Amazero.com. As the description says, buy Nothing: it's "Compact, lightweight and easy to carry, incredibly durable, fits into your briefcase and co-ordinates with everything in your wardrobe." It was created by Green Thing, a not-for-profit public service and a clever website that inspires people to lead a greener life. It's goal is Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)

Apologies if you're offended by certain words in images, but it's really apt right now... Photo: Matthew McDermott There's going to be all sorts of analysis coming out in the next minutes, days, week about what just happened at COP15, but this is my first impression, tempered through some fuming by Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben in the press room here at the Fresh Air Center. The US and the world has essentially agreed to not do anything meaningful about climate change:...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)06696814818845525788

Images Via Ecofriend The Lucet lamp is an interesting concept design by industrial designer Rui Palma. It's not the first idea for a window-sticking-solar-style light we've seen, but it's a bit more realistic. The unique shape and easy movability means a user can make bright, beautiful designs on their windows, or take them off the window to light up the room at night. There's just a couple problems......Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)0426737594700697067700763571391198949745