General Discussion (not bike related) - The Chainlink2024-03-29T11:22:04Zhttps://thechainlink.org/forum/categories/general-discussion-not-bike/listForCategory?categoryId=2211490%3ACategory%3A44598&feed=yes&xn_auth=noJoerid Vacuum Sealertag:thechainlink.org,2022-04-16:2211490:Topic:12143332022-04-16T15:25:38.629ZJames Ramirezhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/JamesRamirez
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<p></p> How to promote a book on biking cross-country?tag:thechainlink.org,2022-01-17:2211490:Topic:12129702022-01-17T19:11:31.888ZDavidhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/DavidK
<p>If this post is inappropriate, I apologize, and please delete.</p>
<p>I've written a travel memoir on biking cross-country. Yes, I know I'm not the only one to have done such a trek — you may have, too :-). But I do need to promote the book, which will come out in a couple months, and I'd appreciate any advice.</p>
<p>Thoughts as to a well-known cyclist or adventurous traveler who might want to write a blurb (like, 2-3 sentences)? I heard Al Roker is one, but I can't figure out who his agent…</p>
<p>If this post is inappropriate, I apologize, and please delete.</p>
<p>I've written a travel memoir on biking cross-country. Yes, I know I'm not the only one to have done such a trek — you may have, too :-). But I do need to promote the book, which will come out in a couple months, and I'd appreciate any advice.</p>
<p>Thoughts as to a well-known cyclist or adventurous traveler who might want to write a blurb (like, 2-3 sentences)? I heard Al Roker is one, but I can't figure out who his agent is. I wrote to Leon Legothetis (not a cyclist, but still...) yet haven't heard back. Anyone accessible come to mind?</p>
<p>Or thoughts on podcasts/blogs who may be open to having me?</p>
<p>The manuscript focuses on the human stories of people I met along the way, along with beauty and kindness.</p> Voting resourcetag:thechainlink.org,2020-10-19:2211490:Topic:11624142020-10-19T18:38:13.929ZBrett Millerhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/BrettCMiller
<p>I searched previous posts and didn't see a voting resource discussion, but figured other CLers might appreciate a place to post on this topic. Specifically, I found this early voting waiting time viewer helpful (assuming it is accurate) as I am hoping to time my commute to avoid lines for early voting on my way home.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/service/early-voting-wait-time-viewer">https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/service/early-voting-wait-time-viewer</a></p>
<p>I searched previous posts and didn't see a voting resource discussion, but figured other CLers might appreciate a place to post on this topic. Specifically, I found this early voting waiting time viewer helpful (assuming it is accurate) as I am hoping to time my commute to avoid lines for early voting on my way home.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/service/early-voting-wait-time-viewer">https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/service/early-voting-wait-time-viewer</a></p> Metra: Medical personnel ride free during coronavirus pandemictag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-24:2211490:Topic:11357152020-03-24T20:37:43.415ZBob Kastigarhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/BobKastigar
<h1 class="title page-title">Medical personnel ride free during coronavirus pandemic</h1>
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<div class="content"><div class="pull-left">(<span class="date-display-single">March 23, 2020</span>) - </div>
<p>Doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other medical personnel on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic will now be able to ride free on Metra trains for the duration of the state’s “stay at home” order.</p>
<p>To ride free, medical personnel only need to present a work ID showing that…</p>
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<h1 class="title page-title">Medical personnel ride free during coronavirus pandemic</h1>
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<div class="content"><div class="pull-left">(<span class="date-display-single">March 23, 2020</span>) - </div>
<p>Doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other medical personnel on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic will now be able to ride free on Metra trains for the duration of the state’s “stay at home” order.</p>
<p>To ride free, medical personnel only need to present a work ID showing that they are employed at a hospital, doctor’s office, medical facility or local fire department to a Metra conductor.</p>
<p>“We know it’s a small gesture but if it makes this all a little bit easier for these men and women who are bravely showing up at work every day and saving lives during this crisis, it’s the right thing to do,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski.</p>
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<p><a href="https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/medical-personnel-ride-free-during-coronavirus-pandemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/medical-personnel-ride-free-during-coronavirus-pandemic</a></p>
</div> Gig jobs for bikers?tag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-23:2211490:Topic:11358972020-03-23T18:37:48.321ZDavidhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/DavidK
<p>Does anyone know if companies are hiring more bike delivery/messenger/courier contractors now? (With the assumption that we'd use appropriate PPE.)</p>
<p>Apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere; couldn't find it in searching.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if companies are hiring more bike delivery/messenger/courier contractors now? (With the assumption that we'd use appropriate PPE.)</p>
<p>Apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere; couldn't find it in searching.</p> NY Thinks About Removing Lanes on a Highway Instead of Wideningtag:thechainlink.org,2020-02-01:2211490:Topic:11345742020-02-01T02:25:31.781ZBrian Shttps://thechainlink.org/profile/BrianSobolak
<p>So the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (aka BQE) is falling apart, and the relevant authorities actually recommended *shrinking it* instead of replacing the whole thing. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/nyregion/bqe-lanes-closed.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/nyregion/bqe-lanes-closed.html</a></p>
<p>Umm, hubba-hubba!</p>
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<p>This seems like a strategy that should be pursued in a lot of urban highways, esp. here in Chicago. While many are perhaps strategic for…</p>
<p>So the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (aka BQE) is falling apart, and the relevant authorities actually recommended *shrinking it* instead of replacing the whole thing. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/nyregion/bqe-lanes-closed.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/nyregion/bqe-lanes-closed.html</a></p>
<p>Umm, hubba-hubba!</p>
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<p>This seems like a strategy that should be pursued in a lot of urban highways, esp. here in Chicago. While many are perhaps strategic for movement of goods, I'm sure plenty could go on a road diet. (Obvious candidates to me: 53, Lake Shore Drive, 94 (Edens), Eisenhower, and others I'm sure I don't travel as frequently.)</p>
<p>The obvious candidate is Lake Shore Drive -- it just doesn't need to be as big as it is.</p>
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<p>I think a partial justification for tearing down some of this infrastructure is... cost. We hear constantly how broke Illinois is, how we can't afford more. While this obviously requires solutions across a number of areas, I just feel like in a lot of areas we could save money if we had less infrastructure rather than more. And this article about the BQE shriking highlights this possibility. I enjoyed this quote:<br/><br/></p>
<p><em>“It’s just not in the DNA of most highway agencies to build smaller,” said Samuel I. Schwartz, a transportation consultant who advised the B.Q.E. panel. “We’ve gone through a 70-year period of adding and widening but this is a failing strategy. It’s like solving the obesity problem by loosening your belt.”</em></p>
<p> </p> A cyclist dies from suicidetag:thechainlink.org,2019-07-30:2211490:Topic:11260702019-07-30T15:22:57.057ZBob Kastigarhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/BobKastigar
<h3 class="LC20lb">Olympian Cyclist Kelly Catlin Dies At 23 in Apparent Suicide</h3>
<p>This was very disturbing to read.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/29/kelly-catlin-death-cyclist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/29/kelly-catlin-death-cyclist/</a></p>
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<h3 class="LC20lb">Olympian Cyclist Kelly Catlin Dies At 23 in Apparent Suicide</h3>
<p>This was very disturbing to read.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/29/kelly-catlin-death-cyclist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/29/kelly-catlin-death-cyclist/</a></p>
<p></p> OT 14 cows come home to Jane Byrne parktag:thechainlink.org,2019-07-16:2211490:Topic:11258872019-07-16T22:47:38.653ZMike Schwabhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/MikeSchwab80
<p><a href="https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/cow-parade-chicago-anniversary/">https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/cow-parade-chicago-anniversary/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/cow-parade-chicago-anniversary/">https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/cow-parade-chicago-anniversary/</a></p> Parking Has Eaten American Citiestag:thechainlink.org,2019-06-09:2211490:Topic:11237942019-06-09T16:02:28.787ZBob Kastigarhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/BobKastigar
<h2 class="subhead"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A study documents the huge amount of space taken up by parking, and the astronomical costs it represents, in five U.S. cities.</span></h2>
<p class="body"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Parking eats up an incredible amount of space and costs America’s cities an extraordinary amount of money. That’s the main takeaway of a …</span></p>
<h2 class="subhead"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A study documents the huge amount of space taken up by parking, and the astronomical costs it represents, in five U.S. cities.</span></h2>
<p class="body"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Parking eats up an incredible amount of space and costs America’s cities an extraordinary amount of money. That’s the main takeaway of a <u><a href="https://www.mba.org/Documents/18806_Research_RIHA_Parking_Report%20(1).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a></u> that looks in detail at parking in five U.S. cities: New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Des Moines, and Jackson, Wyoming.</span></p>
<p class="body"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The study, by Eric Scharnhorst of the Research Institute for Housing America (which is affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers of America), uses data from satellite images, the U.S. Census, property tax assessment offices, city departments of transportation, parking authorities, and geospatial maps like Google Maps to generate inventories of parking for these five cities. (The inventories include on-street parking spaces, off-street surface parking lots, and off-street parking structures.)</span></p>
<p class="body"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://getpocket.com/explore/item/parking-has-eaten-american-cities?utm_source=pocket-newtab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://getpocket.com/explore/item/parking-has-eaten-american-cities?utm_source=pocket-newtab</a></span></p>
<p class="body"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2855326156?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2855326156?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full" width="539" height="360"/></a></span></p> Meetup at Beermiscuous Saturday 2/2tag:thechainlink.org,2019-01-29:2211490:Topic:11161952019-01-29T04:41:37.275ZNoah Kleinschmidthttps://thechainlink.org/profile/NoahKleinschmidt
<p>If this post belongs in a different forum/thread, sorry! Let me know!</p>
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<p>I’m still pretty new to Chicago and would love to meet some bike enthusiasts. I also love beer. Wanna meet up at Beermiscuous at 5 on Saturday, drink some brews and talk bikes/beer? They’re doing a raffle and they’re tapping vanilla Bourbon County Stout. I’m a 29yr old daycare teacher (hopefully a high school sub in a couple months). Reply or send me a message!</p>
<p>If this post belongs in a different forum/thread, sorry! Let me know!</p>
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<p>I’m still pretty new to Chicago and would love to meet some bike enthusiasts. I also love beer. Wanna meet up at Beermiscuous at 5 on Saturday, drink some brews and talk bikes/beer? They’re doing a raffle and they’re tapping vanilla Bourbon County Stout. I’m a 29yr old daycare teacher (hopefully a high school sub in a couple months). Reply or send me a message!</p>