AUSTIN critical mass: ON HALLOWEEN!

Critical Mass is on Halloween this year in Austin!

Let's go! get hold of me if you'd like to go... I'll be headed up that way for my brother's soccer game the next day anyway.

Hooray.

When Palin gets annoyed, her brain stops working entirely.

ha............................ is this real? if you're supporting this woman in any way, in all seriousness, you should be ashamed of yourself. voting for a washed out pushover old man is supporting her bid for the presidency. please reevaluate your decision, it is very important.


Palin was annoyed by Couric's questions on the CBS interview... That's why her flustered responses made absolutely no sense, and she showed absolutely no knowledge regarding very heavy US current events.

wow.

if you need a refresher, here is a video of the interview.




other interesting articles that never cease to amaze me:

palin's makeup girl gets $22,300 paycheck (2weeks). this is relevant in terms of how poorly their budget is distributed, considering their political advisors get around $12000 each 2 weeks. Her hairdresser gets about the same as the political advisors, if not more. this is also important news in regard to how their paychecks are reported- as "personnel svc/equipment" and "communications consulting." palin has a record of using taxpayer's money for her own use (the police jet in alaska), using her position of power for personal gain (troopergate, using the local alaskan police jet for personal travel), not regarding what she is told to do by her own party/advisors (using alaskan tax money for flying/hotels for her children at campaign events they are not invited to, speaking to the press when advised not to). the list goes on!

the republican national commitee spends $150,000 "outfitting" Palin and her family... I could LIVE on that amount of money for more than a few YEARS. her makeup artist's single paycheck could pay off my college debt!!!!!!! disgusting.

and, palin left her small town of wasilla, alaska more than $20 million in long-term debt after her time in office as mayor. she was known as the "ear-mark queen."

bicycle commuter act?!

CHECK THIS OUT! haven't heard it in the news or anything... saw it on apartment therapy re-nest article and on cycling blogs.

So it seems like us cyclists never get any deserved benefits (aside from being in shape and super sexy til we're old), but George Bush must not have read the bail out plan's details very carefully, and we got the good end of the deal.

Included in the bail-out plan signed into law a couple weeks ago was a very short act called the "Bicycle Commuter Act." Apparently, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator Ron Wyden (both Oregon Democrats) have been pushing this type of act for almost a decade. Their persistence, and our choice of alternative transportation, finally got that act written in the bail-out plan under the larger chapter of Renewable Energy Tax Credit Initiatives legislation.

Thanks to hardworking representatives, strategic and intelligent legislation was passed. Looks like us lower income people might actually have just ONE benefit from the bailout bill. Who would've guessed it would involve our bikes.


HERE ARE THE BASICS:

Starting January 1, 2009, this will be the LAW, if you are a bicycle commuter (to your job).

Discuss with your employer- they will have to fill out forms (not yet created) to make this tax break happen.

You can/will be reimbursed up to $20 (taxable...) a month for almost any bicycle related expenses.

Your employer will be reimbursed what they pay you. Also, they get an income tax break at the end of the year.

EVERYONE BENEFITS.





Now, you might be thinking... "$20 a month ain't shit." BUT, the act was FINALLY passed into legislation. SUPPORT IT, and those representing us will be working very hard to get us MORE of a break! It was originally supposed to be $80 a month, but $20 is a good start.

RIDE YOUR BIKE!
please update me if you hear any new info!

check out the League of American Bicyclists page for the FAQ on this bill so far. here it is as of now, in the bailout plan:

SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.

(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking ‘and’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘, and’, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ‘(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-


‘(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.
‘(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term ‘applicable annual limitation’ means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.
‘(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting month’ means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee--
‘(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and
‘(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).’.

(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting ‘(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)’ after ‘qualified transportation fringe’.

(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.

sad guys on trading floors

this is hilarious.

the economic crisis isn't.... but my disgust for richness, greed, irresponsibility, gambling, and money in general makes this one of my new favorite photo blogs.

Sad Guys on Trading Floors.

hah.

flings

saw this on design boner's weekly fling.

hilarious. why can't you see their leg hair through the pantyhose? you could definitely see sergio's through his 80s stirrup turquoise panty hose last weekend! :)


for additional hilariousness, checkout the e-mancipate instructions on how to put on male pantyhose.

omfg.

i need a new (old) tv.

wow. look at this. $350? hmm....i prefer thrift store finds..... but this one is beautiful:

some more.

ha.

hey this one looks like my tattoo. strange

979 represent

atarimatt's site, 979represent, has a photo up of his t-shirts made in support of jesse/lucas/bicycle"assault" business.

THANKS MATT!


(atarimatt at Zapatos, College Station, TX)

Soccer Update- Morgan

So my brother recently began playing college soccer for Southwestern University. They had him on the freshman team, but started playing him on the first team when they realized he would win games for them.

They keep their season updated on the Pirates Soccer blog. Check out the most recent article: Knobel Nets Two Game Winners.

NYPD cyclist attack

This is from a couple months ago, but I noticed it and felt strongly enough to post it because of what happened to us recently in college station, with the local State Troopers who refused to take our statements after being assaulted by a drunk couple in a pickup truck several times in a row.

The article is on The Convergence Factor blog, check out the video.



ugh

10 easy minutes.

an edited version of the Biden-Palin vice presidential debate. not edited like manipulated too much... basically a cut to the chase removal of pauses and "ums." it shows you what is left... besides, we all already watched it so we know how ridiculous it was anyway.

if this 10 minutes doesn't leave you with the thought that Palin is mentally retarded or on some kind of medication, you should make sure you're watching the same video. because damn.

gotta love texas.

we get assaulted on bicycles at 2am by a drunk driver, and we end up with an assault charge ourselves.

etc etc etc. there's a lot more but i'm sick of telling the story.


HERE's to texas......... the great state of ignorance, conservatism, and good ole boy tradition. things we see everyday:

"i vote christian"

"vote the bible"

douchebag neck

funny- on design boner.