I was walking in my very quiet neighborhood, wearing a long wool coat, listening to an audiobook in my usual there-but-also-somewhere-else manner, and suddenly I'm hit in the leg with what I thought was a rock. Is someone throwing a rock at me? I turn and see a rather pathetic man holding a controller of some sort in his two hands and glance down at the ground and see the stupid drone toy of his that hit me. I give him a look that must have expressed my opinion that this is the dumbest loser I have had to interact with in a long time, said nothing, and moved on. I was glad nobody threw a rock at me and glad I didn't express my sense of relief but only my opinion of his loserhood when I had to look at him.
Also, recently: We were walking down a quiet residential street near where we live, and suddenly BANG! — a big car crash. On a street with practically zero traffic, a black car made a left turn into the path of a red car going straight. No one seemed to be hurt, but the black car spun around and had its whole passenger's side crushed in. I realized how situationally unaware I am when I'm walking. I had my eyes open and looking straight in the direction where it happened, but I don't feel that I saw it. The sound of the crash got my attention, and I looked at the aftermath and deduced what happened, but I really did not see the hit. I think I get caught up in my thoughts and I'm somehow blind without being aware of how blind I am.
November 20, 2017
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108 comments:
The guy with the drone hit you on purpose.
Loser is right. And a creepy loser too.
Perhaps a droner going in for an upskirt?
Head on a swivel. No headphones.
Well, they’ll drone ya when you’re walkin’ ’long the street
They’ll drone ya when you’re tryin’ to keep your seat
They’ll drone ya when you’re walkin’ on the floor
They’ll drone ya when you’re walkin’ to the door
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get droned
David Begley
"The guy with the drone hit you on purpose."
If the loser has a car with a old "Recall Walker" bumper sticker on it, that would explain everything.
"There's that right wing extremist Nazi Ann Althouse!"
Wow. Harshing on drone man.
Was he wearing shorts?
A large hamster ball would lessen distracted walking danger.
"The guy with the drone hit you on purpose."
If you saw his face you would not say that.
Also, he was way too close to me. A person trying to hit somebody would get distance and hide his responsibility, but this guy was less than 20 feet away and the big old controller was there in his hands. He was caught red-handed with a red controller and the red drone at my feet. He looked so stupidly inept. No one intending to hit somebody else would stage it like that.
And he hit me in the leg, which was covered by a long coat. Maybe you could say that's why he thought it was okay. She'd barely feel it. Like groping the breasts of a woman in a Kevlar vest.
A gentleman would have offered you the chance to run the drone. You might like it.
This kind of annoyance is what's going to regulate away flying my 3/5 scale C5A.
rehajm said...
Head on a swivel. No headphones.
11/20/17, 6:46 AM
I have my head on a swivel in cities. In quiet neighborhoods, it's easy to let your guard down (as Rand Paul knows).
Don't get me started on the number of times, I've yelled at people walking on bike paths to warn them I'm passing on the left, only to get no response at all because they're wearing ear buds and are in their own little universe. They're walking in the middle of the bike path to begin with, instead of on the right. Then when you're about to pass them, they shift suddenly to the left and you end up having to swerve onto the grass to avoid crashing into them.
Such people are easy targets for muggers.
I've droned for several years and have only hit myself. Twice.
Future drone controllers will look like (or be) smartphones. Your look has probably pushed this loser to upgrade his gear.
Your claim of low situational awareness exists in the context of what is actually going on about which you need to be aware. From what you say, Drone Loserman and Black Car LoserPerson are the ones who *really* lacked situational awareness.
Still, we all hope you will be careful. Maybe Meade can walk point?
" 3/5 scale C5A."
that's a pretty big drone; it Really hurt to be hit in the leg with a Galaxy; even if it was only 3/5 scale. and your fuel costs must be prohibitive
Maybe he thought you were Rand Paul?
"Inside here is 3 grams of shaped explosives."
Living is easy with eyes closed wide open.
This is not my beautiful house.
This is not my beautiful neighborhood.
"A gentleman would have offered you the chance to run the drone. You might like it."
He lacked the wit even to say "I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"
And I won't touch the controller he was touching if he'd wiped it down with hand sanitizers.
I think I get caught up in my thoughts and I'm somehow blind without being aware of how blind I am.
None are so blind as those who wear earbuds.
He was groping you with his drone! He probably thinks that Alfranken is funny.
"Ann Althouse said...
And he hit me in the leg, which was covered by a long coat. Maybe you could say that's why he thought it was okay. She'd barely feel it. Like groping the breasts of a woman in a Kevlar vest."
Whoa hold on there. Al Franken is innocent.I know this because: "A former military officer is disputing her claim. He identifies himself as “TT” on Twitter and says he was Franken’s “escort officer.” On Twitter, he describes himself as“Ret. Spec ops Pilot, Race Car driver, space geek who used to b a conservative till the Rep party was hijacked by the anti-education crazies, i seek truth!”
"He had an escort on every base during waking hours...I even stayed with him in the bathroom...If I saw anything that was inappropriate, it was my job to report it...BTW I am an independent, who did Leeanne vote for???"
This is enough evidence to allow two dozen lefty friends of a lefty friend to denounce Tweeden as a "slut" and "liar."
"Don't get me started on the number of times, I've yelled at people walking on bike paths to warn them I'm passing on the left, only to get no response at all because they're wearing ear buds and are in their own little universe. They're walking in the middle of the bike path to begin with, instead of on the right. Then when you're about to pass them, they shift suddenly to the left and you end up having to swerve onto the grass to avoid crashing into them."
On the shared path, when I'm walking, I walk all the way to the left and keep to my lane. That way I see the bikers, and the bikers do the normal thing of going around me.
By the way, some people are deaf. You'd better bike in a way that accounts for the inability to hear or don't use the shared path. Bike in the street.
We suggest you be aware of your surroundings and not pleasantly lost in your thoughts. Sorry, but that's the way it is.
Post today on Drone Man blog
I was flying in my very quiet neighborhood in my usual manner and suddenly a leg jumps out and hits my drone. Is someone kicking my drone? I realize it's this spaced out lady in a weird like really long coat listening to some crap on her headphones. She looks down at the wreck of my beautiful aircraft like she'd never seen a drone before. Then she looks at me like it's my fault! I couldn't believe it. She blunders right into my flight path because she wasn't paying attention and it's my fault! I wanted to throw a rock at her. I give her a look that must have expressed my opinion that this is the dumbest loser I have had to interact with in a long time.
Then this same space cadet is wandering around with her headphones and she walks right out in front of a speeding black car! The car swerves to miss her but gets t-boned by a red car. The black car goes spinning around. It's whole side is smashed in. The space cadet just stands there gaping. I don't think she even knows how close she came to getting run over. And then she just doddles off. Maybe she's on meds or something. Maybe she shouldn't be out by herself.
Lucky it was a toy drone.
@EDH
Yikes!
@Bob Boyd
LOL
But I wasn't alone that time. I was with Meade and we were on the sidewalk half a block away from the intersection.
Don't get me started on the number of times, I've yelled at people walking on bike paths to warn them I'm passing on the left, only to get no response at all because they're wearing ear buds and are in their own little universe. They're walking in the middle of the bike path to begin with, instead of on the right. Then when you're about to pass them, they shift suddenly to the left and you end up having to swerve onto the grass to avoid crashing into them.
I bicycle too and I think this is one of the dumbest bike culture things out there. First, why should a pedestrian know that "LLEFFF" means "I'm passing you the left, sir or madam, so if you don't mind, please walk to the right." Most people hear the shout and turn their head towards the shout, which turns their body to the left." Second, "LLEFFF" is hardly what comes out. It's usually more like "EHHHHH!" which means nothing.
If you are biking fast enough that you might surprise a pedestrian and accidentally hurt them if they turn the wrong way or don't hear you, you are biking too fast.
And no one swerved.
The black car (I think) decided to make the left turn either thinking there was enough time or not seeing the red car. Maybe neither car noticed the other and both just completed the move they'd have made if the other car were not there. The red car wanted to go straight and the black car wanted to make a left turn, and it was a very low traffic area, so they just didn't expect another car to be in the same place. That's just a guess. As I said, I didn't really see it happen.
It was right after the football game and within 2 miles of the stadium, so I was actually very concerned about dangerous driving, because there were a lot of cars that would be leaving the area at that time and a lot of people have been drinking for hours. I didn't trust any of the drivers.
The car crash videos on Facebook and YouTube can be addictive. What I continue to find interesting is how often the car/truck with the camera does not slow down when things start happening in front of them. To me, that means the driver is not paying attention, not situationally aware.
The drone thing can be annoying to both the inconvenienced, like you, and the serious radio control modeler, like me. There are so many of them that in only takes a tiny percentage of the clueless to make things a problem. The FAA registration program will shortly be back on track, with recently passed legislation that overcomes the issue that had the first attempt struck down by the courts. The value of registration will be to help determine if an incident is nefarious or an accident.
I got hit by a drone (and it felt like a kiss).
I am Laslo.
"I bicycle too and I think this is one of the dumbest bike culture things out there. First, why should a pedestrian know that "LLEFFF" means "I'm passing you the left, sir or madam, so if you don't mind, please walk to the right." Most people hear the shout and turn their head towards the shout, which turns their body to the left." Second, "LLEFFF" is hardly what comes out. It's usually more like "EHHHHH!" which means nothing."
Around here, people say "on your left," not just "left."
I think a bell is better. It says: There's a bike behind you.
What bikers may not fully appreciate is that a pedestrian is vulnerable and yet feels entitled to walk in peace. You're being so inoffensive, just walking along. You're enjoying the peace and freedom of walking, and the bikers who share the path introduce danger. The machine they are using is almost silent, and they swoop up right behind pedestrians, changing the nature of paths that they're lucky to have access to.
Often there are children and dogs on leashes on these paths. These beings sometimes move erratically. You can't just be barreling along on your bike and shouting.
In Madison, I like to walk on the Mendota lakeshore path, and I must share that with bikes. At one end of the path, you can go out onto Picnic Point, one of the nicest walks in the city. You used to be able to bike on the Picnic Point path, but you can't anymore. Bikes have been banned. Bikers should at least in self-interest realize that they can get their access cut off.
There's a no alcohol policy at Camp Randall Stadium (WI), and has been for quite a while.
"LLEFFF" means "I'm passing you the left, sir or madam, so if you don't mind, please walk to the right"
LLEFFF doesn't mean that; it means: I'm on a bike, and have All the rights and None of the responsibilities: Get out of my Way!
I often walk over the Longfellow Bridge to work. The Longfellow Bridge is a historical bridge that connects Boston to Cambridge. It's in the middle of a multi-year renovation project. Through this time, the normal bike lines which are on the pavement, have been disrupted as the bridge is only one-way now. So there is usually a single bike line in the one-way direction and all other bicyclists, going the other way, ride on the sidewalk where pedestrians walk in both directions. Occasionally the sidewalk is constricted by construction scaffolding or workers moving equipment. Cambridge and Boston have bike-sharing stands on each side of the bridge so a decent percentage of riders are inexperiencedly riding clunky and heavy single-speed bikes. The view from the bridge overlooks the Charles River Basin and French-speaking tourists and the Chinese parents of MIT students often stop to take pictures. The Canadians move in couples while the parents of students move in groups.
I used to ride this bridge before I gave up bringing my folding bike on the train. Since I've been walking the bridge I've come to loath the wannabee bike messengers. They ride much too fast for the conditions and expect that shouting or bell-ringing will move everyone out of their way.
Slow down. You move too fast.
One trick you can use spotting trouble is stare at a fixed point and notice movement in side vision. This picks out airplanes when you're flying very well.
Unfortunately only airplanes that you're not going to collide with.
Constant bearing means collision.
I was given a drone as a present recently and I have tried to fly it a couple of times. It is a cheapo and I must stay it ain't as easy to do as people make it look. The dang thing took off and hovered in place for oh, all of about 5 seconds. Then is started to drift off. I moved the joystick to correct it, that made it go zinging off in a different direction. overcorrecting again, it started zipping off towards the trees. Long story short, I crashed. I'm not at all surprised you got hit. And the hangdog look you got from him reinforces the idea that he knew damn well he had no business flying in such a small area.
Or, he could have known you were the famous Ann Althouse, and he was trying to spy on you to post something on his web portal. Ever unconsciously scratch, or adjust your clothes in an unflattering way? Granted Wisconsin in November, you probably got on more clothes than Nanook, but still that's a thought.
That car crash could be Midwestern absolute right of way rules. The red car felt obligated to hit the black car because its right of way had been impeded. With the drone, it would be fun to hear the other side of the story.
“So I’m making a landing with my drone, they don’t go very fast you know, and this woman walks past me doing the head phone thing, doesn’t see me standing there with my drone controller, doesn’t see the drone coming in, doesn’t see my arm guestures, steps out of her way right into its path. Then she gives me a look like she expects me to pay for the “damage” to her coat. And the man she’s walking with, he and I exchange knowing looks.”
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
ON YOUR LEFT!!
After doing Dawn Patrol with Rufus (my dog) listening to this podcast (http://drdrew.com/2017/recognize-a-predator/) I brew a cup of coffee and open my browser to see what is new and find this post and thread. Convergence? Coincidence? Situational Awareness? Parallel Universe? I am glad the Authoress (AA) came out unscathed.
It should be like golf. If you hit someone with a drone you must give them $10. (the pros hand out golf gloves when then hit someone but tradition is a $10 bill).
Would you be as annoyed if it were a frisbee?
"I think I get caught up in my thoughts and I'm somehow blind without being aware of how blind I am."
This is how unlucky deer get tagged.
Was there a giant penis in the sky?
With great power comes great carbon footprint.
Yeah you got to watch out for penii. They're crafty and audacious characters.
rhhardin,
"Constant bearing means collision."
Only if it's combined with decreasing range.
White man privilege!!
The lack of situational awareness is epidemic and very dangerous.
People walking around either deaf to the world with ear buds, or absorbed in their idiotic smart phones who are completely unaware of the world around them, then WHAM suddenly something happens that would have easily been avoided by just paying some attention to the world! WHAM...hit by a car or fall into an open pit.
People, women especially, blithely strolling through areas that are dangerous, dark, alone, not glancing at their surroundings, making noise, acting stupid.... and as if they think they are encased in some magical bubble that will somehow protect them from all the bad vibes around them. WHAM...robbed or raped or both.
People deciding to take a stroll through the woods or camp out in the wilderness as if it were a beautiful Disneyland adventure with cartoon characters. Maybe they think they are going to meet up with Bambi. Unprepared, unarmed, unconscious of their surroundings and WHAM bear or mountain lion or worse, drug cartel member protecting his meth lab.
I no sympathy for people who cannot have the least smidgen of self awareness or self preservation. They deserve what happens.
Curious George,
The needle pegged so hard it broke. You owe me a new bullshit meter.
>This kind of annoyance is what's going to regulate away flying my 3/5 scale C5A.
What a strange coincidence: I have a 3/5 model of Charleston AFB on my kitchen table.
I would have stepped on the drone.
Bikers in Madison are absolutely coddled at the expense of pedestrian safety. Get off the sidewalk!! If you are too timid to ride on the street, you should be leaving your bike at home.
On the Multi-Use Southwest Path, I notice the bikers who will not under any circumstances cross the center lane into the oncoming half to pass me, a walker. Inevitably, they're wearing lycra, a 10-pound sack of sugar in a 5-pound container.
I would've knocked the drone to the ground and broken it into as many small pieces as I could.
Althouse, best wishes for your continued safety in what's obviously a dangerous place. Your commenters would be bereft without you!
Very nice, Bob Boyd.
Ann doesn't strike me as a doddler.
Sounds like inattentional blindness, at least in the 2nd instance. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness). "The best-known study demonstrating inattentional blindness is the Invisible Gorilla Test, conducted by Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard University. This study, a revised version of earlier studies conducted by Ulric Neisser, Neisser and Becklen in 1975, asked subjects to watch a short video of two groups of people (wearing black and white T-shirts) passing a basketball around. The subjects are told either to count the passes made by one of the teams or to keep count of bounce passes vs. aerial passes. In different versions of the video a woman walks through the scene carrying an umbrella (as discussed above) or wearing a full gorilla suit. After watching the video, the subjects are asked whether they noticed anything out of the ordinary taking place. In most groups, 50% of the subjects did not report seeing the gorilla (or the woman with the umbrella). Failure to perceive the anomalies is attributed to failure to attend to it while engaged in the difficult task of counting passes of the ball. These results indicate that the relationship between what is in one's visual field and perception is based much more on attention than was previously thought." Ann's 1st instance might not be illustrative, simply because she was attacked from behind, which could have happened to anyone. But in the 2nd, something must have been monkeying around with her perceptual load, even if she doesn't say what.
"“So I’m making a landing with my drone, they don’t go very fast you know, and this woman walks past me doing the head phone thing, doesn’t see me standing there with my drone controller, doesn’t see the drone coming in, doesn’t see my arm guestures, steps out of her way right into its path. Then she gives me a look like she expects me to pay for the “damage” to her coat. And the man she’s walking with, he and I exchange knowing looks.”"
I was walking straight along one street and the man with the drone was standing on a street perpendicular to my street. I never walked past him. He was standing still about 20 feet back from the intersection. I guess I could glance down ever sidewalk I cross and see if there's someone back there, doing something that might affect me, but it's not like crossing a street and looking for cars.
Loser, eh? Why?
Take a type-a road-raging asshole driver out from behind the wheel and put him on a bicycle and what do you get ? A type-a road-raging asshole on a bicycle.
You should have crushed the offending drone underfoot.
To most men, this would have been seen as an opportunity to ask the guy how much the drone cost and if he likes it.
The brain only has X bandwidth, and does not do real multi tasking. You can only focus on one item at a time. Your brain switches to other activities super fast.
I bike narrow paths along a millrace (canal). Sometimes someone approaches on a bike in the center of the path. Most times they move to their right, I move to my right, and we squeeze by each other. No problem.
But some people stay locked in the center forcing me almost into the water. Know what these center-riders have in common? They’re either children or women. Always. Never a man. But we’re the jerks and raging Type-A’s.
Nope.
"On the shared path, when I'm walking, I walk all the way to the left and keep to my lane. That way I see the bikers, and the bikers do the normal thing of going around me."
Yes. Thank you Ann.
After having been clipped a couple of times and the dog once, I bagan to walk on the left. Nearly on the verge. I get dirty looks from bikers and a couple of times I got yelled at for being on the wrong side. Tough. Call a cop.
The state you describe is exactly what predators look for, someone preoccupied, perhaps listening intently through electronics to something distracting, almost completely unaware of what is happening around them, of who is following them, of what dangers lurk around the corner where visibility is obstructed.
Yep. It's so much easier to surprise a victim when you can track them unaware and appear suddenly, shockingly, when they least expect it.
It's been suggested on here (accurately or not, I don't know) that you walk strapped, Althouse. If so, you're also assuming a responsibility to be aware of your surroundings so you can make a cogent decision in the unlikely event that you feel you need to use it.
This kind of annoyance is what's going to regulate away flying my 3/5 scale C5A.
THAT truly made made laugh out loud. Just picturing a gigantic 3/5 scale Galaxy. What can I say? I appreciate absurdity!
"CWJ said...
Curious George,
The needle pegged so hard it broke. You owe me a new bullshit meter."
I'm not sure what you are trying to communicate.
I like to listen to audiobooks or podcasts when I walk my dog. Generally I don't walk where there is automobile traffic because I like to let the dog have some freedom for a while and he doesn't understand that there's an important difference between moving cars and parked cars. But sometimes there are fast moving bicycles on the trails or runners with their own dogs (dog politics are also divisive) coming up from behind. I use a bluetooth earbud. That only blocks one ear. If I'm not listening to music I don't really need to listen in both ears.
"Sounds like inattentional blindness, at least in the 2nd instance. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness). "The best-known study demonstrating inattentional blindness is the Invisible Gorilla Test...."
Yes. I'd been thinking about that in this context. I blogged about that years ago. So striking. You can be looking right at something and not see it.
"I like to listen to audiobooks or podcasts when I walk my dog. Generally I don't walk where there is automobile traffic because I like to let the dog have some freedom for a while and he doesn't understand that there's an important difference between moving cars and parked cars. But sometimes there are fast moving bicycles on the trails or runners with their own dogs (dog politics are also divisive) coming up from behind. I use a bluetooth earbud. That only blocks one ear. If I'm not listening to music I don't really need to listen in both ears."
I should do that. I think it's good not to have obvious wires showing that you are not situationally aware. In Madison, there have been some stories of guys coming up from behind and hitting people over the head (a theft tactic).
I'm guessing he was practicing his approach to up-skirt photography. Even if you weren't wearing a skirt, he needs to know how people react to a drone approaching from behind, and you just happened to be convenient. By skirt season, he'll be proficient.
Most likely is he's a nerd entering the field.
Learning to fly a real airplane is too expensive these days.
My dog's presence might deter a would be thief. I don't know. He's a fair-sized mongrel and whatever breeds he consists of came together to produce a creature that looks like he could rip a man to shreds, but in reality he's worthless for protection and as a watch dog. He loves all people like Jesus does. Nothing bad has ever happened to him so he expects only good things from everyone.
He doesn't make the same assumptions about his own kind however.
Curious fact. You can only hang laundry for a few minutes at a time when it's below freezing. Wet fingertips get very cold.
Not as bad as spilling gasoline on your hands but still bad.
A task skill beyond an army of drones, though perhaps the clothesline isn't the way to go. Hang a shirt from a drone and have it circle the house for a few hours.
I was hit by several bullets after a White Sox game in the early 1980s, walking near IIT Research Institute Towers on 35th and State. Luckily, I was wearing a heavy motorcycle-type leather jacket and the bullets had lost velocity--only dimpling the jacket, then falling to the ground. They were .22s. All-in-all. I'll take a drone hit, I think.
"I would have stepped on the drone."
HARD!
I can't believe it took so many comments until someone suggested this. A quick apology might have prevented my action, but as described? Crunch!
I wear a single stereo ear bud when I walk my dog with the sound turned as low as possible. We have a problem with off leash dogs and I want to be able to hear them if they come up behind me and Torrey.
The one I have been using is the GoNovate G8, purchased through the Althouse portal.
He's a fair-sized mongrel and whatever breeds he consists of came together to produce a creature that looks like he could rip a man to shreds, but in reality he's worthless for protection and as a watch dog. He loves all people like Jesus does.
My neighbor has a dog like that as well. Ninety pounds of love.
When I was teaching my daughter to drive she came up to a stop sign, pointed her nose left and right, and started to pull out right in front of a moving car. She had looked but she had not seen. I yelled and no harm done, but we talked about engaging the brain as well as the neck.
Curious George,
That "TT" was spouting bullshit.
Yes. I'd been thinking about that in this context. I blogged about that years ago. So striking. You can be looking right at something and not see it.
Motorcyclists learn this quickly or they don't survive. The people in cars aren't expecting to see you, so they don't.
you might find this video on why film cuts don't blow are minds to be interesting in regards to this matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y6Bkizc46o
By the way, some people are deaf. You'd better bike in a way that accounts for the inability to hear or don't use the shared path. Bike in the street.
11/20/17, 7:20 AM
But it is specifically a bike path. A bike path that people walk on. I've walked on it too, and stayed to one side.
If I were deaf and walking on a bike path, I would make sure that I was not walking down the middle of the path.
Darrell said...
I was hit by several bullets after a White Sox game in the early 1980s, walking near IIT Research Institute Towers on 35th and State"
I believe it.I went to a White Sox game in the early '80's too and many fans there appeared to be out on parole. Rough neighborhood.
I've never heard of the $10 golf "rule" for hitting someone with a ball, and it doesn't sound like it makes any sense. If you hit someone with a ball, 99% of the time you're either sufficiently rude or inattentive to hit in someone's direction and be able to reach them. I've seen fights nearly break out over it.
Once I was standing safely in back of and behind my friend as he prepared to hit into the green. He pulled it almost 45 degrees left into a nearby tree, and it ricocheted back and hit me in the thigh about two inches right of the crown jewels. I just said "Gene, I never thought I had to wear a cup to play golf".
My Golden Retriever is also a big Teddy Bear who loves everyone, but he does bark and he has a very deep intimidating bark, which is good for watchdog purposes.
Exiled--
The shots came from somewhere in the projects--just South of 35th Street. They weren't at the game.
M Jordan said...
I bike narrow paths along a millrace (canal). Sometimes someone approaches on a bike in the center of the path. Most times they move to their right, I move to my right, and we squeeze by each other. No problem.
But some people stay locked in the center forcing me almost into the water. Know what these center-riders have in common? They’re either children or women. Always. Never a man. But we’re the jerks and raging Type-A’s.
Nope."
Exactly. The center-riders/walkers are behaving like the bike path is their private property. And I regret to say that most of them are women.
"He doesn't make the same assumptions about his own kind however."
My female basset was badly mauled by another dog a couple of years ago. She was on a leash and the other dog was not and had been let out by two teenagers. I could not get the dog off her in spite of kicking it lose, it would go right back to attacking her.
She was totally passive and screaming in pain. Finally the owner dragged it off and we spent the rest of the day in urgent care vet clinic.
Fortunately the owner was a neighbor and paid for the treatment which was a couple thousand.
Juliet does not like other dogs now. She also has a deep basset bark.
I now carry a walking stick with a spike on the end when we go far a walk.
I remember that the paint on a Galaxy weighed over a ton. So your model required at least 1200 pounds of paint. That's commitment.
"She also has a deep basset bark."
Yeah. I once had to plead guilty to having a barking dog. A basset hound's bark carries.
Michael K, I'm sorry to read about your dog. I hope the recovery is quick, but I don't think the timidity around other dogs will go away fast.
It was good of the neighbor to pony up on the costs.
>So your model required at least 1200 pounds of paint.
720 pounds. A 3/5 model is 3/5 as long, 9/25 the surface are, and 27/125 the volume. Square cube law.
I'm on shared bike/pedestrian paths a lot (predominately bicycles, then runners, then walkers). I'm prepared to admit (and try to behave as though) cyclists should enjoy the lowest preference in terms of right-of-way. This because we are fast and nearly silent and more significantly because of our relative speed advantage we come up upon and create situations rather than have them come up upon and be created for us. Any burden naturally should fall mostly on the instigator.
That said: bells are only a small improvement in advance notice and preparedness for all parties. Notably, there utility is diminished by the fact that 1.) bells, beeps, chimes, tones, chirps and dings are so freaking ubiquitous that most people (me included) often tune them out and 2.) many runners/walkers have earbuds in and/or are otherwise preoccupied managing a dog on a leash.
Depending on how vigilant I feel at any given moment, I might use some or (usually) all of the following protocol: 1.) ring bell, 2.) loudly say "good afternoon" (hopefully if they are capable of hearing me, they've gotten past being startled, 3.) loudly say "One (if it's just me) passing on the left". 4.) get my hands on the brake levers, 5.) pass by as fast as I can as far to the left as I can.
At least as often as not, all of this happens without the slightest apparent realization of the passed pedestrian.
Don't get me started on how screwed up automobile intersections can be.
At the end of the day, you have to approach any kind of bike/other interaction as though you, the cyclist, will be responsible for any accident and probably bear the pain/injury burden thereof.
@ Michael K
Hope your basset is OK now. Some dogs are just mean. It can be a problem, especially in the off leash areas I prefer to walk in. Fortunately, dog fights have been very rare.
If I see another dog coming in time, I call Zak back and put him on a leash until we're past. He won't attack another dog, but he postures up and growls which some pet owners find disturbing. It sounds serious when it happens, but it's just talk. The other dogs are usually exhibiting the same behavior.
If Zak does approach another dog, usually, after a moment or two of circling and making a proper first impression, my dog will start wagging his tail in these really short fast wags. Then one of the two will feint and the other will hop back. After a couple of those, they'll start playing. Zak's not aggressive, but he doesn't take it for granted the other dog is his buddy.
A few years ago there was guy with a boxer dog I ran into on the trail. That dog didn't hesitate. He ran a hundred feet like bullet and attacked Zak, knocked him down and started biting him. Zak got his feet back and they fought for what seemed like a long time before we got them separated. There was blood on both dogs, but nobody was seriously injured. This happened three times with this same damn boxer on the same trail. The guy moved away, but now my dog hates all boxer dogs. He's an unapologetic breedist.
@ Michael K and @ Bob Boyd I'm sorry to hear of the experience your dogs have had. I have had a few close calls but have been lucky so far. I carry pepper spray though I'm not sure how effective it would be on dogs.
When I hear someone approaching on the trail I usually try to get Torrey into a sit/stay on whatever side of the trail she is sniffing. She is two, loves the world, and wants to jump. I keep her there until the person has ridden/walked passed.
Situational awareness was drilled into me by my high school driver's ed teacher under the rubric of defensive driving, and I've done my best to teach both sons. It was also taught by one of my martial arts senseis, specifically the one who taught aikido. I know for a fact that I apply what I was taught when the wife and I are out walking. One of my son's karate senseis, a short, middle-aged woman, had it -- she talked about going to her car with a grocery bag in each arm. She felt "something," so she put her bags on the trunk of a car and pivoted into a fighting stance. There was a group of young black men behind her. Were they planning to knock her over the head and steal her purse? Or what? She said they walked quickly past her and she finished taking her groceries to her car when they were gone. Now sensing potential danger from behind, that's true situational awareness.
I have seen situational awareness in the curricula of some advanced concealed carry classes, which makes sense -- better to avoid situations where you might need your gun than to be expert in its use. However I've never taken such classes myself and don't know what they teach or how well.
@EDH, thanks for the link. Sure makes the "evil twin" scenario problematic.
Dang, Assrat. You're right, of course. That's what I get for doing math on my lunch break.
Althouse should have dropped to the ground, shrieking in pain, threatening a lawsuit...then when he's fully freaking, "Gotcha";)
Michael K,
What breed was the attacking dog?
"a short, middle-aged woman, had it -- she talked about going to her car with a grocery bag in each arm. She felt "something," so she put her bags on the trunk of a car and pivoted into a fighting stance. There was a group of young black men behind her."
What do you mean? They were just standing there sizing her up?
Without more info I'm picturing the "short, middle-aged woman" spinning around into that goofy Karate Kid pose while the walk by wondering what her deal is.
The geezer with the drone did you a favor by waking you up from your moronic dream state to let you know you were still a meat puppet in the real world.
The trifecta on combo bike-walk paths are people with baby strollers and a dog on a leash. Then you get an arrogant twit wearing a european candybar suit racing his Italian road bike in an aerodynamic crouch at 30-mph dodging around the strollers and dogs. Gaia must love tourdists and Flatlanders, she made so many of them
That has got to be one of the most hilarious post titles you've ever written. It begs for an "Oh, by the way" intro.
Drone strike.
Was I the only one who laughed at Meade's "Everybody must get droned"? I'm going to be humming that the rest of the day.
Condition white Re: Cooperstown colors
Left turners tag a lot of motorcyclists also.
That should be "Cooper's".
Also the constant bearing thing is how an outfielder gets to a fly ball.
"I no sympathy for people who cannot have the least smidgen of self awareness or self preservation. They deserve what happens."
Why do you hate children so much?
Why do you hate children so much?
Is that what you are?
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