Yes, I’m ok. Thanks for the concern and I appreciate the offers of organ donations. But really….
My friend John said in his blog, “There’s idea guys and people that do stuff…” I’m kinda a bit of both.
A while back I posted about floating a proposal to The City to let bicyclists treat stop signs as yield and stop lights as signs. That idea is still floating around in my head. I really want to toss it at the Spokane bicycle community at large before I go too far. But the idea is still there.
What currently has me by the short hairs is something that I kinda believe infringes on my personal space. So, I’m a home-owner and want to do some work. Being conscientious and because I don’t want to collapse the roof on myself I get a construction permit to work on my house. As the owner, I can do the work myself and as long as it’s done to in accordance with code as well as inspected all is ok.
Now, as business owner I get a permit for the same type of work. But guess what? I, as the business owner and even the owner of the building cannot do the work myself. No matter that I get the same permit and do the work to the standard of code. According to the City of Spokane the work must be performed by a licensed contractor. At first I kinda poo-pooed this till a friend of mine was having a light bulb (a freaking light bulb!) changed in one of the fixtures in his parking lot. The person was on a high lift changing the bulb when a code inspector drove by and asked for his permit and license. None on hand so the person was fined (I don’t know how much).
To me this stinks of business interests interfering or even impinging on my personal freedoms. As long as the work that I perform is safe and within the boundaries of the building code, the building owner (be it home or business) should be allowed to do the work.
I’m of a mind to do a bit of research on other cities, see what their policy is and if a business owner can do their own work, take it to my city council representative (Richard Rusch) and see where it goes.
Phew! Ok, I do believe this is the first ever political rant I’ve ever done.
Now, speaking of people that do stuff Bill Bender is one of those people. He is organizing Spoke Fest (a bicycle gathering/ride) and he needs some assistance. So if you’re into biking and can possibly help contact them.
One last note, I drink a lot of water. Easily a gallon or more per day. On Friday I’m planning on riding to 9-Mile but don’t want to carry a gallon of water with me. I’d like to purchase a water purifier before then. Any recommendations?
That’s it for today. I’ll probably have more tomorrow and maybe some results on the two “ideas” that I have.
Till later,
Jacque – Out
For water to 9-mile. Not sure which direction you are going, but Riverside State Park has water.
I use iodine tablets. I used to bring a filter with me on longer trips/overnighters, but I don’t bother anymore. Just the tablets. I have a fancy MSR filter, but the ring is old/cracked so it doesn’t work very well. The O-ring is replacable. If you feel like finding an O-ring for it, you can borrow it for as long as you need it.
I’ll buy you a coffee for the use of it. I’d like to give it a shot.
Does iodine make the water taste bad? I remember when my Mom used to put Iodine on my cuts and stuff. Burned like the dickens (kinda like of like a recent radio commercial.)
John said this in a personal e-mail to me (published with his permission)…
I don’t think it’s a bad idea.
“I just spend more time than I want to at neighborhood meetings with the old cantankorous car people. Many of them hate bikes/cyclists already. I actually think passing such an ordinance would be politically impossible at this point. It would take a ton of political capital… which is always tenous when it comes to bike stuff.”
Hmm, seems as if this idea may be having some agonal respirations
I think asking for a traffic code variance for cyclists will just highlight the fact that many cyclists already cruise through stop signs and red lights (I see this way too much). Personally, I prefer bicycles follow the same rules as drivers. That way everyone knows what to expect from everyone else. Unfortunately, many people on bicycles ride as if the rules were advisory which increases the chances of an accident. But even when you, the cyclist, are in the right you still lose when you get hit by a car.
Add a filter system and a Camelback to your list for your next yard sale ride.
I’ve also got a filter you can borrow in case you have any trouble getting a hold of John’s. That would make me the backup-filter-lender-guy.