cmurthi’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Misinformation

  Always amazed at how much mis- and dis-information Umbra can spout in one column with that pseudo-folksy style.

  Quoting the DOE to get wattage of fans? And that extreme range...a 250w fan is like those giant 48" industrial air movers you see in factories. A table fan may be 50w.

  Then the incorrect "no one seems to care about watts (on a/cs)" What? Every a/c ad. and certainly the a/c nameplate shows wattage used. Iae, the computation of watts=btu/eer is something even my 9 year could do, it's hardly "too many numbers."

  Also, who uses 3 (250w!!) fans in a room to replace one a/c as noted in the comparison? The comparison of energy used should be 50-90w (fan) to 700-900w (a/c.)

  Obviously, the a/c provides different comfort (not least the reduction of humidity which is in most cases more important than temp,) not mentioned by her.On Umbra on fans versus AC posted 1 year, 4 months ago 19 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Sharing the Road

  Well, all the comments about sharing fly in the face of recent theories about traffic (Gehl for instance) where European cities are going exactly in the direction of "forcing" all manner of traffic -cars/cycles/peds to share space.

  Separation of uses leads to false sense of secutity and less space for all. This is not my theory, it's becoming the accepted wisdom. See www.streetsblog.com or www.sharetheroadsafely.org/ or www.gehlarchitects.dk/ or google "shared road use".

  And, on a purely anecdotal but valid note, I can, having grown up in India, attest to the inherent ability of roads to allow vehicles, cycles, people and even animals to share. Not that I'd want to foist Indian anarchic conditions on anyone, but they do serve a purpose.

  If the commments here are from Seattle, it must not be a bike-friendly place. On Time to get serious about bikes posted 2 years, 3 months ago 15 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Correction to above

  I should've said "Critical Mass was not about excluding anyone" (at least in SF where I used to live and now in NYC). Perhaps Seattle is different.On Time to get serious about bikes posted 2 years, 3 months ago 15 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Speeding is for the Track

  Well, to each their own. As a regular cyclist, on city streets in Brooklyn, I can say I never reach anywhere close to 15mph. That would be suicidal. I use my bike to go to the store, to take my son to school etc.

  Critical Mass should not be about excluding anyone or speeding around. If you think cycling is about speeding around, you're more the problem than the solution...i.e., a solution to short trips around which can replace the use of a car. If you want to speed on a cycle, get on a Park track (and try not to, as in Prospect Park near me, terrorize the kids who want to have fun cycling.)

  To gmunger: suggest you check out the traffic in many countries where cycling is the norm for those who don't have cars. They do, indeed, go at about 5 mph.

  odograph, that's a somewhat stretched analogy and can safely be ignored. On Time to get serious about bikes posted 2 years, 3 months ago 15 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Cycling is for Everbody

  Firstly, the symbol is meant to indicate that the lane is "shared" (with vehicles). Aa with many bureaucratic things, this should be obvious...bicycles have the same right to roadway that vehicles have (at least in most states,) symbol or otherwise. It's meant as a "reminder" to those SUV drivers.

  Secondly, I think you do a disservice to state that the woman  "was not a strong enough cyclist" to participate in Critical Mass. That's exactly the type of elitist attitude that makes cycling such a fringe activity. If the average middle-class shmo jumped on a cycle to do a few errands or commute (as in many European cities,) many more would participate. As it is, many think it's a weird sport confined to spandex-clad daredevils. And telling people they're not welcome only makes it worse.On Time to get serious about bikes posted 2 years, 3 months ago 15 Responses