Most notable OSCon swag: set of OSU Open Source lab coasters and a magnet to signify that I Like something on my fridge

Saw some cool cars at the Portland Art Museum

The Allure of the Automobile brought sixteen incredible one of a kind cars to the museum, and every Saturday the park blocks are filled with hundreds more on a different theme each week. Next Saturday is BMWs and Mercedes! Search Cars in the Park for more info.

I really enjoyed the streamlining on the blue Alfa Romeo :)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Colorful sunset reflecting off of glass buildings downtown

It was a good time to walk to the store :)

On Bicycle Accidents At Freeway Off-ramps: Personal Experience & A Controversial Solution

I was involved in a painful yet survivable bicycle accident on Friday at NW Couch and 14th Avenue. The driver was brand new to the area and pulled out in front of me from the stop sign. I was travelling so fast down the hill I couldn't slow down fast enough and struck the car door pretty hard with my shoulder. I'll be ok, nothing is broken, luckily enough, but I have had to take a couple days off. 

My accident is not the first or last bike accident to have happened on 14th Avenue. Tracy Sparling's ghost bike was on the corner for years, and the enhanced bike markings the city put in served to remind us the danger of that intersection. Yet I rode down 14th Avenue to get to work every day. As I recouperate at home, thinking about my experience, and the near-misses, miscommunications and actual accidents I see all the time in various intersections like that around town, I'm becoming more and more committed to the idea that there are more roads in Portland that should be clearly marked "dangerous for cyclists."

And not because I'm a totalitarian car fanatic, but for our cyclist's own safety. If a cyclist knows what he or she is doing, and can merge with traffic in the car lane, I feel like they have every right to be anywhere they want to be. But accidents happen all the time, and they are bound to increase as we freely give tourists a bike and a helmet for $25 a day and say "have fun!" I appreiciate the signage and mapping the city has done to help encourage cyclists to stick to safe routes, but I feel it could be taken one step further than the green boxes and bike paths. Why?

Freeways bring people from all over, and many of those drivers are unaccustomed to the amount of bicycles on the road we have here.  

It's a fact we cannot change.

I know I'll take a different route to work from now on. Once Couch has a stop light that was timed to the one on Burnside, I will take 14th again. Until then, even though there is an ample bike lane with tons of markings, I deem that road dangerous for cyclists.

 

Another impressive feat of cargo hauling

This time it was three guys from New Zealand, their suitcases and an obnoxiously tall, at least 4 foot tall cardboard box. They were skeptical at first but the Prius made it happen, we got everything in comfortably and they remarked on how much room the two still had in the back seat. I felt so victorious I asked to take their photo :) try fitting all that in a Crown Vic! :D

See the full gallery on Posterous

Keeping the cab clean in an ecological way: microfiber cloth

If you are my friend on Foursquare you will know I am a fan of carwashes. Portland's rainy streets kick up a lot of dirty water most of the year and I find myself going through the car wash almost every shift. Eco-friendly washes like Washman and Radio Cab's carwash limit the impact by only using a few gallons, but in the summer there is an even better way to keep the car shiny and clean: microfiber cloth.

You can find it at any auto supply, hardware, and even most grocery stores. It has a clingy texture, like miniature soft Velcro. The cloth picks up dust in one swipe, both inside and out of the vehicle. No cleaning products required!

Here's what I do on dry days with a slightly dingy cab to make it shine.

I start on the inside of the windshield. If the thin film of condensation buildup is giving me trouble I breathe on it like I'm cleaning my glasses and the cloth picks it right up.

Once I've done the windows, I use the same cloth to dust the interior.

Then I clean the outside windows in the same way. If there are any spots on the window, I get part of the cloth wet, use that to pick up the spot, then use the dry part to shine it.

After the windows, still using the same cloth, I wipe the dust off of the rest of the car and put the dirty cloth in my bag to take home and wash.

So in about 5 mins, at the train station queue or the hotel stand or anywhere I want to be, with a bit of effort and one cloth I'm rolling bright and shiny again :)

Lol what r u looking at

Meier and Frank warehouse reconstruction is looking good so far...got a healthy bank of windows done and a lot of the exterior flaws are patched up

It is gorgeous out here!

Destiny fulfilled: delicious caprese salad entirely from Oregon's bounty.

Updated website makes hailing a Jaxicab even easier

That's right! I finally put the page together, check it out at http://jaxicab.posterous.com/pages/get-a-jaxicab

More flash will be added, some photos and more tour details, eventually, but the basics are up there :D

I'd like to hear what anyone thinks about it. If only these crickets would die down ;)

 

Clear bright skies over Portland today :)