bike theft a good sign...

Bike theft is bad. Very bad.

But it's an inescapable fact that bike theft is a serious problem only in cities that have a great bicycle culture.

If your city doesn't have a problem with bike theft, it's probably not a very desirable place to ride.

Such are my thoughts upon reading an article on preventing bike theft in the NYT.

porched bike for Scraper Bike King

Childhood church and school friend Brent Loo had me remove this bike from his garage to make space for thirteen lacrosse sticks and uniforms. Or something like that. We had it in our garage for months, and I've finally done something with it. After considerable email tag with the legendary Scraper Bike King, I just left it on his porch this morning, tying it with a ribbon for extra measure.

Scraper Bike King and scraper bikes have been featured in the mainstream media for some time now. See: NPR, Bay Citizen, and then also this, Scraper Bike King about gang wars in Oakland.

2nd degree murder, well deserved

A sous chief at Google has killed a total of four people while driving recklessly, and for the most recent two he's getting a 2nd degree murder rap.

Bucci was also found guilty of causing great bodily injury to Immanuel's mother, 47-year-old Regina Jackson of Suisun City, who was driving the Toyota, and to another son, Jordan Callison, now 14, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

[...]

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously rejected a series of appeal arguments raised by Bucci, including his contention that he lacked the implied malice or intentional recklessness needed to support a second-degree murder conviction.

The panel said there was substantial evidence for a finding of implied malice.

"Bucci was speeding up a hill going the wrong direction in a no-passing zone on a highway, where he could not see oncoming traffic on the other side of the hill and could not return to his correct lane because of the semi-trailers he was trying to pass," Justice Henry Needham wrote.

"Certainly a reasonable juror could conclude that the natural consequences of his conduct were dangerous to life and that his conduct endangered the lives of others - such as the occupants of any vehicle approaching from the other side of the crest of the hill," he wrote.

Not to miss this from the Chronicle:

A motorist who approached the burning car said she had asked Bucci to help her pull out the driver, but that he had raised his hands in a gesture of futility and walked away.

Remember people like this guy when you're on country highways.

why cables aren't enough

The golden rule is that if you are going to park your bike in public and expect it to be secure, lock it up with two locks. And if you're only going to use one lock, don't use just a cable and a padlock. If I'm parking my best ride somewheres, especially a high-theft area like SF Civic Center, I use a quality U-lock on the frame, then a padlock and a cable for extra measure.

I saw the tragedy you see in this picture on Shattuck Ave in Berkeley on Sunday, June 20th.

A joke from Leiden. A student finds that his bike has been stolen. He sees a cop and says, "Someone stole my bike!" The cop's response: "Well then go steal another one!"