iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

IMHO the new bike lanes on Estes (between the end of the sidepath and Library Dr) are an improvement, but would be lightyears better if they (a) had flex-posts and (b) actually went *all* the way to the light at Library Dr...or ramped up to the sidewalk there instead.

Getting deeper into Chapel Hill, beyond Bolin Creek, is still a challenge but is getting better. IF you're comfortable in the 'bike lane' on Estes (the bit between Umstead and MLK), you can get to the new Estes Sidepath; that and $65 will get you a year's worth of books at the CHPubLib (sorry).

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My kingdom for local elected officials trying out e-bikes for the first time. This thread is a FANTASTIC account of the victories and challenges experienced by a new rider trying to navigate their town by #bike. #Ebikes #Infrastructure

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...chasing down a Barnes truck in a borrowed car. IOW, swing way wide. That said, if you are patient and don't mind breathing fumes, playing car isn't awful in the blob. It's pretty easy to keep up, and most drivers are at least tolerant, if not polite, to people on bikes around there.

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Navigating the downtown Carrboro blob...honestly, my favorite way is to skirt round the backside of the teeter. Ordinarily I avoid parking lots like the plague, but I've had good luck with this one. Just be ready for a driver to come pell-mell around the back corner, near the tracks, like they're...

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2. The other non-merge-into-the-left-lane option is to take Libba Cotten to Cameron, and jump on Roberson from there. I don't recommend taking Libba Cotten to Brewer Ln to Franklin St, because the 5-way intersection at Crooks Corner is an adventure and a half.

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...Rosemary, and then right at the church to stay on N. Roberson. Then wend through Northside until you get to the Tanyard Branch trailhead.

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...there are a couple options that might work. 1. If you don't like the idea of playing with traffic and merging left from E. Main onto W. Rosemary, continue in the bike lane on E. Main toward Franklin St. Take a Left on N. Roberson (use the crosswalk if you need to), then left at the light onto...

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Tanyard Branch + Bolin Creek Trail is a Game Changer. IDK how many car trips @chapelhillgov.bsky.social eliminated when they made that connection, but it's a big number just from me (in the 100s). Getting to Tanyard Branch from downtown Carrboro is harder than doing it in the reverse, but...

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The #garden has woken up from its summer drought slumber

Photo of a small basket of cherry tomatoes and poblano peppers, with a large shiitake mushroom in front

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Stopped in a tiny town I can't remember the name of for lunch and used a pay phone to let my parents know I'd be a few hours late getting home, because someone at lunch told me about a waterfall that had frozen and by all means I should not miss seeing it.

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Sometimes I got lost, and discovered a new place. Like when I took a wrong turn crossing the southern Appalachians and ended up following a snow plow through Joyce Kilmer and fell in love with a whole new part of the world.

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I used a map. Sometimes hand-drawn. I looked for land marks. I followed directions. I paid attention and learned the way

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That was one photo, of the back of her head. Now my own phone, for which I paid quite a lot, is doing the same thing, en masse. I'm beyond ready to #degoogle

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A few years ago a photo I took of her--thankfully not showing her face--went viral and people all over the world started messing with it. A few organizations had the gall to put their logos on it. I was mad as hell, especially when I realized there was jack shit I could do about it.

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I was mad enough that it also disabled hands free calling and navigation, both of which I was counting on to help me get her to this away game on time. But digitally watermarking photos of my child...photos I wanted or needed zero AI assistance to take...is not cool.

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How-Sen Chong @how-sen.com · 02/10/2026

My pixel phone finally stopped listening to me saying "No" and activated Gemini. Every photo I took of kiddo cheering in her first football game last night now has a stamp that says, "Edited with AI." Pissed is an understatement.

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Reposted by Tab C

Listen: I don’t want to minimize the danger of high e-bike speeds. But if the problem here is that stores sell e-bikes that can drive faster than legal limits, then where’s the story about how literally *every car dealership has been doing the same thing for decades*?!?

cbc.ca

Hidden cameras show some stores unlocking speed limits on e-bikes, selling e-scooters that go up to 120 km/h | CBC News

A new hidden camera investigation by Marketplace shows how some stores are selling e-scooters and e-bikes with top speeds much higher than provincial speed limits and with recommended rider ages young...

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Bromptonymous 🇨🇦 @bromptonymous.ca · 02/10/2026

100% this, and thank you!

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Reposted by Tab C

Mandatory driving and parking is built into so many communities. Don’t feel bad about the times you have to choose a car, and don’t take any flak from people who shame you for decisions made two generations ago to stick you in a car-dependent place.

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everybody else's kids also have the ability to participate in extra-curriculars, no matter whether their parents can drive.

It sucks, and I know the planners and elected officials in my town are doing everything they possibly can to fix it. I'm not going to deny my kid the ability to participate in extra-curriculars. I'm going to continue advocating for better transit & better infrastructure so that someday, hopefully,

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I've spent the past 4 years trying to work out how I might get my kid safely to/from her school by bicycle. Despite my years of experience commuting by bike, I have determined that, at present, there is no survivable route for a kid from where we live to where she goes to school.

sometimes (oftentimes) understanding what it takes to get around without driving requires highlighting the challenges of being a caregiver or parent in a place with limited transit options and almost no infrastructure for kids to get around safely on their own.

A. Zivarts @nondriver.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Reposted by Tab C

What would your life be like if you couldn't drive? This week is #WeekWithoutDriving which is all about understanding what it's like to be a nondriver. @devinsilvernail.bsky.social & I launched @nondriverpodcast.bsky.social to share these stories. Search for 'nondriver' wherever you watch/listen

youtube.com

nondriver

30% of people in the US & Canada can't or don't drive. nondriver is a podcast about the lives and stories of those people, hosted by Anna Zivarts and Devin Silvernail. Every episode, we talk to peopl...

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To be clear: my primary vehicle is a cargo bike. I have been mostly-by-bike for 35 years. My day job is researching ways to help expand transportation options beyond the car. Please, again, don't try and tell me how to live car-free or car-light. I literally have a PhD in this.

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This is exactly what I did to piss it off. It's not the safe move you think it is. I speak from DEEEEEP experience here. I now run all in-class videos through safetube if I can't download them to my computer.

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Counterpoint: confuse the algo too much and it gets mad and punishes you by showing soft porn ads in class to your students #AskMeHowIKnow

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(I don't need you to tell me how it could work by bike but if you wanted to meet us en route somewhere with some chicken nuggets and a fruit cup that'd be great thanks)

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Y'all I would LOVE to join you in the #WeekWithoutDriving but being in multiple places at once while toting multiple musical instruments, multiple outfits, multiple scripts, multiple meals, multiple school binders, one kid, and zero car ain't happening. Sorry.

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I finally cracked and made a master calendar *just for the kid* and I ask again: Who thought it was a good idea to give the sign up sheets to the kids?!!!

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Middle school eats free spaces for breakfast

Tab C @drtcombs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My bingo card is a total loss

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Tab C @drtcombs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Apropos of nothing, literally forcing a product on all your customers does not mean there is more demand for your product.

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the site goes on to list the sun exposure monitor's cons, including "accuracy may be affected if covered or blocked by clothing" But it works great TUCKED IN A BAG

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tell me you use LLM to write your product reviews without telling me "...easy to carry around, whether clipped to your clothing or tucked in a bag, ensuring that you always have reliable sun exposure data no matter where you are..." *tucked in a bag*

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We hear that same excuse here...in the US South...where we get an average of maybe 1" of snow a year...

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RTOR is worse because it's a systemic problem. Disallowing it in high-risk areas doesn't help much if drivers are conditioned to doing it anyway. Short of aggressive policing, there's no way to enforce not turning right on red. As long as it's normalized anywhere, it'll happen everywhere.

I'll take lower odds of death. It's something.

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Make it hard for drivers to ignore it, and make it uncomfortable for them when they ignore it anyway. Will it ever be perfectly safe? No. But forcing drivers to slow down and keep the side path in both sides of their field of vision will lower the odds they hit and kill someone.

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Clearly though, the existence of these two traffic laws is not enough for someone who has passed the test not only for a regular drivers license but also a CDL. So: stripe, sign, texturize, and raise the crossing. Narrow the turning radius (flexposts, planters, or concrete curbs; IDC).

3. There's already an existing precedent for making the cars stop. Stop sign and cross walk. In this state, drivers are legally required to stop at stop signs (shocker, I know) AND to yield to anyone in a crosswalk, regardless of whether that crosswalk is marked.

...time I make it to the other side. 2. Why? We wouldn't have to stop if we were in the road; why should we have to stop if we're next to the road? If there's no clear benefit to pedestrians and bicyclists from using the side path, why would we use it?

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The solution is NOT, under any circumstances, "requiring side path users to stop." 1. The crossing distance is huge. I could stop and make sure the coast is clear when I start my traverse, but (especially if I'm walking or on a non-electric bike, odds are the coast won't still be clear by the...