Mad Eejits

Finally Cycling to Work - 15 Jun 09

So, its Bike Week apparently, which suggests that it might be a good time to mention that I am finally cycling to work. Yes, I know it was over a year ago that I first mentioned the idea but to cut a long-story short, it took over 10 months for my bike to arrive.

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Cycle Northern Ireland - 13 Jan 09

Spotted on BikeRadar:

“A new guide to cycling in Northern Ireland has been launched. The 51-page ‘Cycle Northern Ireland’ brochure focuses mainly on the County Antrim area, which boasts stunning glens and a rugged coastline.”

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Cycle to Work - 29 May 08

Back in January, when I was still very new to my current company, I sent an email to our local Human Resources representative, Sonya, asking if the company ran a Cycle to Work scheme or if they’d consider setting one up. (I briefly mentioned this in February). Well, at the start of May came the announcement that a Cycle to Work scheme was now available for all permanent UK employees of the company!

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The Woman Who Stops Traffic - 05 Mar 08

I’ve been following, with great interest, the mini-series on Channel 4 called The Woman Who Stops Traffic, in which professional ‘trouble-shooter’ Kris Murrin tries to help 3 towns which are suffering from severe traffic congestion.

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Walking Worse for Planet than Driving? - 06 Aug 07

It seems illogical, but that’s the claim made in a recent scientific report, featured in the Times. However, rather than being the ravings of an eco-skeptic, at the heart of the report is the well-reasoned argument that food production, and therefore how we fuel out bodies, has a greater impact on the environment than our cars.

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Are Drivers Getting Worse? - 27 Jul 07

I don’t know about anywhere else, but here in Belfast, I believe there’s been a noticeable deterioration in driving ‘standards’ over the last few years.

Since when did red lights become ‘Give-Way’ (or ‘Yield’) signs? The first time I saw this it shocked me – the driver of the car beside me, at the red light, glanced both ways and then drove on through the junction. (Unlike in the US, there isn’t any situation where that’s legal here, for non-emergency vehicles.) Now it seems to be a fairly regular occurrence and I’m sure some of the drivers don’t even look to see if any thing is coming the other way.

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4x4 Prejudice - 04 Apr 07

As owners of a 4×4, we’re now facing a higher road tax bill next year, thanks to Mr Brown’s token green gestures in this year’s UK Budget. Thankfully ours is not in the most polluting category, within which the road tax will almost double to £400 by next year, but we still feel that its a misguided move by the government.

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Are We There Yet? - 06 Mar 07

I caught the first programme of the above titled series on BBC 2, this evening. It aims to explore the UK’s alternatives to using the car as our main form of transport.

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MIT's Folding "City Car" - 19 Feb 07

Spotted on Tree Hugger, MIT researches are working on a prototype “City Car”, with electric motors, that actually “folds” to create a smaller storage footprint. The idea behind the vehicle is that small fleets of them would be available at train stations etc. and could be rented on an as-needed basis.

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Changing the Car - 15 Feb 07

After nearly two years with us, our little green 4×4 is off to pastures new. So, given this opportunity to move to something more eco-friendly, what’s our new car going to be?

Uh… a bigger 4×4.

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