What alot of people forget that seo is not just building links, site optimizing and all the other shit people are talking about. An very important factor is traffic. And i’m not talking about google traffic but traffic from different sources. Your site needs an certain ammount of visitors outside google traffic to get more traffic from google.

This might only counts for the sites that are already well listed and are already getting a decent amount of google traffic but are stuck with the same ammount of visitors.

Focus on traffic outside google and your site will get more traffic from google!!

A person who drives a vehicle upon any highway of this State at a speed that is 40 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit established under this Chapter or a local ordinance commits a Class A misdemeanor.

If you receive a conviction for a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois, the maximum jail sentence you can receive is 364 days.

Jeremy Richey

Keep visiting this blog for more updates on Bangalore traffic

An initiative by Aapta Solutions Bangalore. www.aaptasolutions.com

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It seems like, if you have a super-specified blog theme, you'll eventually need to squeeze posts out when there really isn't much to say. I don't want to fall into that situation, so I'm going to keep my options open. I'm going to try to make everything I do original and beneficial, but there are no rules beyond that.

It doesn't seem to matter what you put in your blog anyway, since bloggers now-a-days write more for search engines than people. I guess that's good in way. At least that allows people more freedom to not censor their ideas. Just write whatever you want and learn how to drive traffic.

It's scary to think that the number of readers is starting to have less and less to do with quality of content.

Look at the picture ->

Actually I have the greatest sentimental attachment to this particular bike I have. The reason is my wife, Megs. On the first anniversary of our marriage she decided to gift me with the down payment for the bike. The miserly me was very happy at the prospect of having a good bike at 75% the cost!

Anyways, I think its one of the coolest bike ever. I used to ride it to work everyday. Everyone wondered why. Shouldn’t I be traveling by a car (couldn’t afford one then!) or a train (hmmm.. isn’t this more dangerous?). But I think it was ok. My wife didn’t think so. I guess she didn’t like to give me those back massages every Sunday.

But I think it was cool. I made it to work at Worli every morning in 45 mins. And back home in one hour. Zero stress. Isn’t that a tremendous boon in Mumbai? And I LOVED it. I used to just look at the bored faces of all the guys driving back home at the signals (I am one of them now!!). On bad days poor motorists had to wait for the signals to turn green at least eight times at the Mahim Church junction on Cadell road, don’t know the situation now, though. I never took more than one signal stop. I was a staunch believer of the Leftist Movement (stick to the left of the road, there is always enough space for the bike to pass!!!). And then, I used to derive this sadistic pleasure in giving them a wry smile as if I understand their plight.

My bike really peaked when it hit the Western Express Highway frequently touching top speeds of 90 kms. The condition of the roads and the trafific ensured that this did not last for more than 5 seconds at best. Anyways the ride was a great pleasure in all seasons even during the lashing rains of Mumbai.

The only traumas that we (that’s me and my bike) were subjected to are the rickshaws and taxis. But that’s another story.

I have been a bike guy ever since I know it. And I guess I will be so till the end. I drive a car to work now, but the bike still stays with me! Remember what I said earlier, the bike will always be my first love!!

while this is good to hear (who doesn't like tax exemptions?), i just am a bit worried about how my dear country spends my money. i understand that our taxes (here in davao) are sent to the national authorities and from there they allocate it in every region and then in every city.

but then a religious tax payer, like me, would easily be dismayed seeing how government officials, which are, by the way, the people's servants, spends them unwisely. 

just here in davao city:

1. farm to market roads aren't that good enough. some were cemented, others were just covered with asphalt. even national highways aren't nice, most especially in the last-mile areas. and it's funny that the only time they take care of widenings and road repairs is when there are upcoming elections. and what's even more funny is that after the elections you get these options - either they finish the project on time substandardly or leave the project unfinished. if you go far north in lasang, you'll understand what i'm saying.
2. drainage systems within the city proper are not taken cared of. try to visit the areas in bajada, obrero, and in piapi boulevard. you'll be surprised to see that after a few minutes of heavy rain, streets are covered with flood as high as 2 feet.
3. old and new electric posts are jammed with old and new wires. 
4. public markets along national highways especially in areas like km.12 sasa, panacan, and tibungco are still traffic jammed. overpass bridges were built inconveniently on unstrategical locations so people opt to cross the main road instead of using them. 
5. public utility jeepneys are flooding the inner and outer streets of the city. 
6. here's funny, traffic controllers (again, being paid by us) cause more traffic. 

The report also offers a broad, integrated package of actions that RAND researchers say could improve traffic conditions and enhance transportation alternatives within the next five years, and be sustainable into the future.

"Some of the strategies this report recommends -- especially those that would raise the cost of driving -- are likely to prove controversial," said Paul Sorensen, the study's lead author and an operations researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "But without bold action, congestion across the region will only get worse and cost everyone more -- financially, environmentally and through a diminished quality of life."

By many measures, the Los Angeles metropolitan area leads the nation in urban traffic congestion. For example, the metropolitan region ranks number one for total annual hours of delay for all travelers and total annual gallons of wasted fuel for all travelers.

Researchers say the region already has adopted most of the "easy" ways to reduce congestion -- those that are effective, affordable and uncontroversial -- such as freeway on-ramp meters, traffic signal timing, and ridesharing programs. Complicating matters is the fact that the County of Los Angeles has 88 cities, which makes it difficult to implement strategies that require coordination among different jurisdictions.

RAND researchers compiled their recommendations for improving the region's existing transit and traffic systems after studying successful efforts in cities around the world, including London, Singapore and Stockholm, and many major urban cities in the United States, such as New York and Seattle. A panel of noted local transportation experts served as project advisors.

The RAND study analyzed 28 possible strategies for easing congestion in the urban Los Angeles region, under the categories of: managing demand for peak-hour automotive travel; reducing the cost and/or improving the attractiveness of alternatives to car travel; and making more efficient use of existing roadway capacity.

       Major transit infrastructure and other land use related options were not evaluated, only measures that could feasibly be implemented and produce results within five years. The study also focused primarily on passenger travel, not the transport of goods.

       Thirteen options were selected as being the best and most effective, based on their individual merits as well as their complementary interactions. Three of the 13 are contingent recommendations - these are strategies that merit further study on how they might be used in Los Angeles. The recommendations are:

       - Install curbside parking meters that charge more during peak business hours for parking in congested commercial and retail districts.

       - Enforce the existing California state law that allows employees to "cash out" the value of their parking spaces. Companies with more than 50 employees who lease parking are supposed to offer their employees the option of cash instead of free parking, but this law is not enforced.

       - Implement local fuel tax levies at the county level to raise transportation funds.

       - Develop a network of high-occupancy/toll lanes on freeways throughout Los Angeles County.

       - Evaluate the potential for implementing tolls on those entering major activity centers, like those that exist in London and Singapore.

       - Expand rapid bus transit with bus-only lanes on arterial streets and express freeway service in the high-occupancy/toll lanes.

       - Offer and aggressively market deeply discounted transit passes to employers, who would purchase passes for all employees, allowing those who commute by transit to ride at reduced cost.

       - Develop an integrated, region-wide network of bicycle pathways.

       - Restrict curb parking on busy arterial streets.

       - Convert selected major surface streets to one-way streets.

       - Prioritize and fund investments in upgraded signal timing and control.

       - Bolster outreach efforts to assist businesses in promoting ridesharing programs, telecommuting and flexible work schedules.

       - Evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing a regional incident management system on the arterial streets to reduce congestion caused by traffic accidents.

The RAND study also outlines how congestion in Los Angeles might be a lot worse if regional planners and officials already hadn't implemented numerous strategies, including some suggested in the report that have been adopted in part or in geographic pockets of urban Los Angeles.

Charging fees for driving and parking during peak travel times, also known as congestion pricing, is a key component of the recommendations. And although such individual recommendations may face initial opposition, many of the complementary strategies work to offset concerns or objections to those measures.

"Congestion pricing is met with resistance when people first hear about the concept," Sorensen said. "Nobody wants to pay more money for something they've previously gotten for free, and many are skeptical that congestion pricing will actually work. And there's a legitimate concern that if it's not properly implemented, it could end up being more of a burden on the region's poor."

But, according to Sorensen, studies of congestion pricing in other cities have shown that the approach is extremely effective in reducing peak-hour traffic congestion and the popularity of the congestion tolls increases as residents become more familiar with how well it works.

Also, drivers from all income groups can and do benefit from the option of paying to avoid congestion delays when they have an important business appointment, a doctor's appointment, or a child to pick up from daycare. Congestion pricing also raises enough revenue to fund significant transit improvements, benefiting existing transit riders and providing better options for current drivers who would like to avoid paying peak-hour congestion tolls.

       "Pricing strategies are the only sustainable option for reducing congestion over the long-term, and they will be immediately effective upon implementation," said Martin Wachs, director of the RAND Transportation, Space, and Technology Program, and one of the authors of the report.

       It doesn't take a huge reduction in traffic to make a difference: even 2 percent to 3 percent fewer cars on the roads could reduce congestion by 10 percent to 15 percent. But these reductions are usually only temporary, Wachs said. When traffic conditions on a roadway are improved during the peak hours -- such as by adding new roads -- additional travelers will converge on that road from other times of travel, other routes of travel and other modes of travel.

       "People notice that there's less traffic on the 405 Freeway during rush hour, and say to themselves, 'Now I can go back to driving during rush hour,' or 'Now I don't have to leave by 2 in the afternoon,' or 'Now I don't have to take the surface streets instead of the freeway,'" Wachs said.

       In fact, the only strategies that work over the long term are those that rely on pricing, researchers say. User fees such as road tolls, gas taxes and parking fees raise the cost of driving, providing an ongoing incentive for people to avoid driving during the busiest hours in the most congested areas.

       Contrary to the stereotype of Los Angeles as having a long-standing "love affair" with the automobile, per-capita driving in Los Angeles is not excessive in comparison with other large urban areas in the country, although Los Angeles residents do drive a lot compared to residents in other large cities with a similar population density, according to researchers. The region's road network is well-developed and transit service is robust -- second only to New York in terms of service miles provided per year.

       So why is traffic so bad? The population density of Los Angeles metropolitan region is very high in urbanized areas, and parking is cheap and abundant. Most drivers do not pay the full economic and social costs of driving. Los Angeles also is polycentric: instead of one single, dominant downtown region, it has many sub-centers with high populations or job densities. Though polycentricism can spread traffic out, it also makes it more difficult to provide a fast, effective, and well-connected transit network and reinforces auto-reliant travel patterns, according to researchers.

       The research was conducted by RAND's Transportation, Space & Technology program, a part of the RAND Infrastructure, Safety and Environment division. The division's mission is to improve development, operation, use and protection of society's essential built and natural assets; and to enhance the related social assets of safety and security of individuals in transit and in their workplaces and communities.

       Other authors of the study are Endy Min, Aaron Kofner, Liisa Ecola, Mark Hanson, Allison Yoh, Thomas Light and Jay Griffin. The study, "Moving Los Angeles: Short-Term Transportation Policy Options for Improving Transportation," is available at http://www.rand.org .

       - - - -

       CONTACT: RAND Office of Media Relations, 703-413-1100 x5117 and 310-451-6913, media@rand.org

       ABOUT RAND: The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. To sign up for RAND e-mail alerts: http://www.rand.org/publications/email.html

eXtasis estaba planeada desde ya hace 3 aos como cualquier idea de un grupo de amigos cuando empezamos pensabamos llamarle "Pradera Negra" pero luego surgio el nombre "eXtasis". A principios de el grupo no todos los integrante contaban con instrumentos para poder tocar asi que decidimos esperar un tiempo, poco despues cada quien obtuvo su intrumento, en el 2005 nos decidimos a tocar por primera vez en un evento del colegio desde ese entonces nos metimos mas en la onda de la banda y empezamos a tocar en mas eventos del colegio asi como fiestas y un gran evento que es el Talent Tour de aula 2.0. Al principio era dificil practicar en casas por cuestiones de ruido asi que decidimos turnarnos cada ensayo.

a principios de Noviembre se nos une un ex integrante(Jorge) de 2 bandas llamadas especies ocultas y gradocero

Durante todo este ao 2006 eXtasis a tocado en mas de 10 ocasiones y tambien se a mejorado nuestra experiencia tanto instrumental como en el grupo, ya que nos han dado la portunidad de estar presentes tocando en los eventos y hemos recibido buenos comentarios y apoyo del publico y desde luego esperamos que nos sigan dando ese apoyo y confiaza para tocar. Y hemos estado grabando nuestras primeras canciones las cuales esperamos que sean de su agrado ya que es lo que esperamos de nuestra musica y sea para disfrutar

Jenna Grattan (born on October 26, 1987 in Brockville, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional wrestler best known under the stage name Portia Perez.

Contents
1 Career
2 In Wrestling
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 References
5 External links

Career
Portia Perez made her professional debut in summer 2004 for Professional Wrestling Entertainment. While still in high school, Portia took bookings with many companies in Quebec and Ontario, including the promotion she trained with: Universal Wrestling Alliance.[1] In 2005, Perez began accepting bookings in the United States, making her US debut for Cleveland All Pro Wrestling. She also competed for several other American companies, such as Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati, Ohio, and IWA East Coast in Charleston, West Virginia.

In January 2006, Portia took part in her first international tour, spending four weeks in Ireland's Irish Whip Wrestling and England's All Star Wrestling. After returning to Canada, she continued to perform in many Canadian and American companies, including debuting for SHIMMER Women Athletes in May 2006.

Perez made her Mexican wrestling debut in June 2006 as a masked competitor named Xtasis. She spent three weeks competing for Lucha Libre Feminil as well as appearing for AAA.

Portia returned to Europe in November 2006, touring once again with Ireland's Irish Whip Wrestling. During her trip, Perez took part in the Queens of Chaos 2 tournament in Paris, France, and also debuted for Real Quality Wrestling in London's York Hall, challenging RQW Women's Champion "Jezebel" Eden Black.

Portia returned to Europe for a third time in April 2007. She wrestled shows in England and Ireland over the course of four weeks.

Perez missed all of her June and July 2007 dates after suffering a broken hand in a match against MsChif at SHIMMER Women Athletes' June 2 show. She returned to action at Ring of Honor's July 27 show in Long Island.

Perez was part of an illfated tour of India being run by Tiger Jeet Singh in October 2007. All the shows of the tour were canceled and many of the wrestlers were detained by authorities after a riot at a press conference.

Portia formed a tag team with Nicole Matthews debuting at SHIMMER Women Athletes' October 2007 show. They are now known as the Canadian NINJAs, and have also teamed in Vancouver's ECCW.

Portia began a feud with Allison Danger at SHIMMER's July 5, 2008 show, targeting Danger's legitimately injured shoulder.

xtasis, w ww.xtasis.org, ww w.xtasis.org, www .xtasis.org, www. xtasis.org, www.x tasis.org, www.xt asis.org, www.xta sis.org, www.xtas is.org, www.xtasi s.org, www.xtasis .org, www.xtasis. org, www.xtasis.o rg, www.xtasis.or g, ww.xtasis.org, wwwxtasis.org, www.tasis.org, www.xasis.org, www.xtsis.org, www.xtais.org, www.xtass.org, www.xtasi.org, www.xtasisorg, www.xtasis.rg, www.xtasis.og, www.xtasis.or, wwwxtasisorg, ww.tasis.org, wwwxasis.org, www.xasis.rg, www.xtasis.org, ww.xtais.org, www.xtsis.og, www.xtsis.og, wwwxtais.org, ww.xtasisorg, w.xtasis.org

Not Nearly Enough to Increase Pedestrian Safety

nuit blanche.  Sleepless night.

It seems everyone is sick this time of year; I'm no exception.  I woke up yesterday feeling like crap.  I've wanted to go to nuit blanche since this time last year, but I wasn't sure I would be able to.  Luckily my friend and his girlfriend nudged me into getting out and going.  After all that, however, they decided they were cold and tired and packed it in at 10:30.  Sick little me managed to make it until 1:30.  I had planned on a marathon dusk-till-dawn evening, but considering that I was far from 100% I think I did pretty well for myself.

This post isn't so much about what I saw last night.  I'm sure there will be lots of other bloggers that are far more into the arts talking about that.  First of all I'd like to thank the organizers.  They managed to take a cool idea and deliver.  Expose a city to the arts in one night.  And they did.  The streets were packed with people out to see the sights.  Last year had 800,000 people in attendance.  I would not be surprised if we cracked a million this year.

Now, my gripes and observations.

Traffic

nuit blanche is a huge draw and creates an enormous amount of pedestrian traffic.  Cars have no place on downtown streets when something like this is going on.  There were a number of confrontations between pedestrians and vehicle simply because the sidewalks are nowhere near big enough to accomodate all of those people.  Planners knew in advance there would be crouds and should have closed the roads or at least some lanes near the art installations.  Obviously TTC and emergency vehicles still need to be able to get through.  Last night the traffic was so intense it was downright dangerous.

Washrooms

Another poorly planned aspect of the event.  With almost a million people in attendance, a lot of people will need to use the facilities at some point during the evening.  Many art installations were in public spaces, like parkettes or on the sidewalks, where Toronto is not known for having any truly public washrooms.  Some pieces were on display in buildings, however, some buildings were only open enough to view that piece of art.  Walk in, look at the art, leave.  The Toronto Eaton Centre is a prime example of this failure.  There was a piece of art on display that looked like a giant rotating blue blob of whipped cream, although I'm convinced that part of the art was the Eaton Centre being in creepy darkness packed with people as if the mall were open for shopping.  The washroom I attempted to visit was closed and locked.  FAIL.  Toronto City Hall also had a big crowd, but the building itself was locked up tight.  There were rows upon rows of portable toilettes that were locked!  FAIL.  Luckily City Hall has an outdoor washroom that was open, but it was not well marked.  Something to work on for next time, okay planner folks?

Smokers

The smokers were out with a vengeance.  Hordes of people are out on the streets, often crammed together into each other's personal space.  Every fucking time I was trapped in a throng of people, at least one inconsiderate fuck (usually a group) were smoking within five metres of me.  Fuck that pisses me off.  If you're a smoker, please don't smoke when you are in the middle of a large crowd.  It's rude and socially unacceptable.  And you wonder why the rest of society is out to ban smoking entirely.  We don't want to put up with it.  If you need your fix, get some nicorette or something.

Date Night

What's better to do on a Saturday night than take your boyfriend, girlfriend or significant other and look at art, along with a million other people?  How could I tell?  Handholding?  pfft.  Apparently art turns people on -- I saw several couples making out, including one sexy pair of lesbian zombies getting it on in the shadows near City Hall.  To all of those couples:  thanks for reminding me just how single I am. *sigh*

Hopefully the planners will do something about the traffic and washrooms for next year.  Despite the gripes I'm very much looking forward to the fourth annual nuit blanche.

Freedon Rider

Dear Mr. Fantasy

Glad

Re: "Borough tries a little wit to get drivers to slow down" (Gazette, Sept. 3).

I see little humour in the fact that the borough of Côte des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grâce, the city of Montreal and the Montreal police are not doing nearly enough to enhance pedestrian safety in school zones.

While the borough has placed new unilingual French billboards and "Corridor scolaire" street signs, these will have limited effect without strict enforcement 30-km/h speed limit in front of schools and without a program to educate motorists that they must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

We should have middle-of-the-road signs warning motorists to slow down and stop for pedestrians all across Montreal, as is the norm in Ontario and many U.S. states. We need 30-km/h signs in front of every school and playground. We have implemented such signage in Côte St. Luc and will continue to expand this program.

Glenn J. Nashen
Councillor responsible for public safety
Côte Saint-Luc

Friday 3 October 2008

Autoliv is introducing the second generation Night Vision system which includes the world’s first advanced pedestrian detection capability for worldwide application using a single far-infrared sensor.

As Autoliv points out, while headlights can provide good illumination at night, objects at distances beyond 40 metres are usually not seen by a driver. Reduced visibility puts pedestrians and cyclists at greater risk. Indeed, studies have shown that the risk for fatal pedestrian accidents is almost four times higher at night than during the day.

Autoliv’s Night Vision system, first introduced on the 2005 BMW 7-Series, displays a TV-like image of the road scene ahead on the navigation display. The system is sensitive to the infrared (IR) light from warm objects and living beings and can see in total darkness without any lamps or illumination. As a result, the field of vision is not dependent on or limited to the beam of the headlights.

The second generation Night Vision system is based on Autoliv’s far-infrared technology. An improved infrared sensor, mounted in the grille of the new BMW 7-Series, scans the road for pedestrians more than two times further than the headlight range. Once a pedestrian is detected it is highlighted on the vehicle’s Night Vision display. To provide an extra margin of safety the system will also analyse the scene content and vehicle dynamics to determine if the pedestrian is at risk of being hit by the vehicle. An alert is then sent to the driver with enough time for the driver to react.

As traffic conditions and pedestrian behavior varies around the world, Autoliv was required to collect a multitude of night vision video sequences from the United States, China, South Africa, Japan and various countries in Europe. From these video sequences, more than 50 million “image patches” were used for training the advanced software algorithms that detects pedestrians and alert the driver of the vehicle.

The system is designed to cope with varying driving situations, including country and city driving conditions. For example, when driving at slower speeds in the city, where higher pedestrian traffic is anticipated, the system monitors a smaller and shorter corridor of the road ahead to prevent too many warnings due to higher pedestrian traffic. In the countryside, while driving at higher speed, the system will monitor a wider and deeper corridor of the road.

Source : ITS International

We are conditioned to drive on hiways speeding past a neighbor or hurling toward another car within inches, separated only by a painted line on the road.  We have learned that this thin line acts as an invisible wall between our cars, thus diminishing our natural fears of being hurt by the other car.  We take this for granted.

We have seen chaotic traffic on TV, we can comprehend its insanity, but I can tell you that that does not override the instinct of self preservation when you are in it.  Drivers here aim directly for pedestrians judging their speed and the pedestrian's, planning to pass the pedestrian just as they cross in front of the car.  And if not, swerve around them or stop immediately before they are hit.  You can imagine that being this pedestrian is a bit unnerving.

Some roads have these lines painted on, but mostly not.  It would be pointless to paint lines that are not enforced and, further, culturally unaccepted as a rule of driving.  Then there are many types of car horns; there's a 'watch out, I'm about to hit you', there's a 'passing on the right', there's a 'hey, stupid!', there's a 'warning, I can't see around', there's an 'I'm outside'.  All of these comprise of  many short honks.  And so honking fills the air all the time.

The moral of this story: drivers in Pakistan have a much greater level of skill and trust than do Western drivers.

Behold the idiot driver.  There are millions of them right here in Los Angeles.  First, signalling that you are changing lanes has an opposite affect on traffic next to you.  Not only do other drivers NOT move to allow your lane change, some might even speed up just to block you.  Yes, this is a fact.  They are the gatekeepers and decide whether or not your lane change is necessary.  When they block you, it's not time for you to change lanes. 

Last week, as I innocently inched up MacArthur Blvd in Newport Beach towards the toll road, I was victimized by someone who decided NOT ONLY to change lanes without signalling, but to do it while she was right next to me.  Upon realizing that this car was about to sideswipe me, I braked and honked my horn.  I didn't lay on my horn or make annoying blasts.  I honked once, like the brief alert that it was intended to be.  This didn't stop her from continuing her poorly executed lane change.   Fortunately, I had braked enough so she didn't hit me. Lane change complete.  No signal, nothing.   Then I had to change lanes to the right to enter the toll road.  I somehow managed to drive up right next to her again so I glanced over and what to my wondering eyes did appear?   An angry young woman who was shoving and shaking her big middle finger pointed right towards me!!!

This isn't the first time I've encountered bad behavior from drivers in the wrong.  Is it embarrassment that everyone heard me honk at you?  Or a sarcastic acknowledgment of your error and instead of finding a gesture to apologize, you make me feel it wasn't necessary to point out?  For the most part, horn honking is reactive.  At least for me, it is.

In LA, if you want something, you don't ask for it, you take it.  Cutting people off is an art in this town. You MUST know what you are doing. My signal isn't broken asshole, I'm going to move into your lane whether you like it or not.  If done appropriately, the lane change affects no one.  No one gets mad, everyone is used to it.  It doesn't count if no one is around. 

This precision move requires careful planning, timing, and execution.  You cannot simply charge into an open space when you see it.  You've got to mind the flow of traffic and more spefically, not interrupt it.  Obviously this questionably aggressive move is done in heavy traffic otherwise it's not necessary.  After observing the timing of your desired lane, usually a handful of cars ahead of you, and behind you, you then adjust your speed.  There's nothing worse than jumping into a lane at a faster speed and having to slam on your brakes (or forcing the guy behind you to slam on his breaks) causing the whole lane to jam right up.   That's right.  That was all YOUR fault.

You need to watch the drivers to make sure they won't be surprised by you and end up in your back seat.  If they are looking directly ahead, you can make your move.  Look for the driver who is slow to respond when the lane moves.  This is the guy you want to get in front of.  He won't care either because although he's watching the road, he's distracted enough to not keep up with traffic.

Remember to NOT signal! 

Thank you for reading my post.

A dizzying visual representation of one day's worth of air travel over Europe. Stay tuned for the 'flip' that shows a cross-section revealing the density of the air traffic. That's a lot of planes, passengers, cargo and C0².

Related: an info-vis of 24 hours of global air traffic and an interesting visual overview on airport wayfinding signage. It's good to see one of the classics of that particular field of design endeavour mentioned there too: the masterful wayfinding signage of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, designed by Mijksenaar.[Link]

His cell phone rang.

"John here." He clicked on his wireless headset. "Yes, I'm sorry. Looks like I'll be late. Yes. Give me about thirty minutes. I'll be there."

The air conditioning was blasting in his brand new Mercedes-Benz. Yet, he could still feel himself sweating. Leather seats with not only built in heating, they came with built in cooling as well. The seats were turn to the coolest setting. He expected it to feel as if he sat on an ice block. Instead, he still felt hot and agitated in his suit. He was running late.

"Goddam traffic!" He hit the steering wheel.

His phone flared up again. He looked down at his phone. It was his friend. He paused a moment and wondered if he could call him back. With the traffic barely moving, he could use the company.

“Yo wassup Troy.” He yelled into the small mic protruding from his headset.

He lifted his hand in courtesy as a neighboring car let him into the lane.

“Stuck in traffic. Fuck, I gotta get to this client too. Yeah. ABC alright.” He couldn’t help but laugh.

John was Chinese, Taiwanese born for that matter. Throughout college people usually thought of him as ABC, American Born Chinese. He spoke English well and adapted in the world of sales and marketing. It came naturally. His father was a socialite. Speaking and dealing with people is as natural as walking. This gift of his had given him the success he had. Now his friends changed his label of ABC to Always Be Closing. A term describing all the deals he’s closed, each one bringing his family a couple thousand dollars. Moderate income if you close several a month, but this was John and he rightfully earned the title ABC. It wasn’t the instant money he gets when he closes a deal. It’s also the residual money he gets when clients resign with him the following years. It starts off small at first, but when the client base grows, he just sits back and enjoys the ride.

However, with the current economic situation, things have changed. People are trying o save money. Cutting back on their expenditures. That results to no buying and more painfully, no one is renewing. He could sell the dream, but it’s hopeless if no one could afford it. For the past year, he watched his client base dwindle. With a huge mortgage to pay, along with all the lease bills, insurance bills, private school bills, and not to mention every day expenses, money was getting tight.

“Yeah, got the whip. Wife’s got the mini. Picking up the kids from music class.”

He laughed as his friend made a crack about his how awful his life was.

“Dude… I’m so stressed right now.”

If his friend knew how desperately he needed this client. The client was a high roller, a fellow Chinese, but one from Mainland China. Being from Taiwan, he knew it was best to just call himself Chinese, rather than Taiwanese. It was a debate not worth having. Dealing with the Chinese was hard enough as it is. And this guy was no exception. Already filthy rich, this client was still making sure he had the best deal, down to the dollar. He wanted to see the proper return on investment before sealing the deal. Worse of all, the client knew the economy was bad and that John needed the deal. It had been a grueling ordeal. He had worked with this guy for half a year now and it was more stressful than all the stress he’s experienced in the past ten years combined. But this sole deal would help him deal with his bills for a few more months. The deal wasn’t the best deal for the client either. While other firms enticed the contract with incentives, such as box seat tickets or dinner reservations at exclusive locations, John’s deal just revolved around the numbers.

“Yeah. There’s a stupid accident. Yeah? It’s on the news? Great, see if you can see me.”

John waited for a bit.

“I’ll stick my arm out the window. See me?”

A laugh came out of his headset.

“Haha! Yeah that’s me! It’s craaazy right?”

A blip came through the headset. John looked at his phone. It was his client calling.

“Hey man, let me call you back. Got the client on the other line.”

He replaced the call.

“John here. Yes. I’m on 270. Are you sure?”

The agitation rose in John’s blood, but he fought hard to keep it form boiling over. He could feel the beads of sweat forming now. His grip on the steering wheel had tightened to a vise. He shook his head and his jaw tightened as he heard the excuse from the other end of the phone. All because the client found it unprofessional that he was late.

“I understand.”

John took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to let this go down without a fight.

“But you have to see it like this. Things will happen. Just like this, a simple traffic jam. They all come up in your life. We all have to deal with it. But you have to see it for what it is and not let it affect your goal. Just like your goal. You want to see your figures. We guarantee you’ll see your figures. Things may come up after you sign - Congress makes a mistake on the bailout, banks freeze up again. Does that mean you pull your money out. No, where money is loss, money is gained. Money only moves, it’s never lost unless someone physically burns it. Our firm lives by this and we follow it to heart. That’s why we’re still afloat in this storm. So if you let this uncontrollable delay affect your decision and opinion, I’m afraid our fundamental thinking are in conflict.”

John’s wiped the sweat that appeared on his forehead and waited on the line.

“OK. Great. I’m glad to hear that. I’ll see you in fifteen.”

He was at the side lane now passing by the scene of the accident. His body temperature cooled. He looked out at the accident that occurred. Now he saw why this was a big deal. It was a chemical tractor-trailer. Any worse of an accident would have been a catastrophe. He glad that didn’t happen and surely glad he avoided his accident.

Traffic was moving again. Everything was coming back to normal. He turned on his radio and popped in his favorite CD. He started singing along to his favorite Taiwanese song, while dialing up his friend.

“Yo,” He greeted calmly. “Yep. ABC.”

Normal hours tomorrow and, I would assume, normal traffic. Oh no!

(Tuut tuut!) Ik heb me in India elke dag verbaasd over het verkeer.
Om te beginnen rijdt men er links. (Méép!)Maar dat is al meteen niet waar. Laten we zeggen dat een kleine meerderheid van de Indiërs meestal min of meer links rijdt.(Pwet pwet!) En links wil zeggen de linkse tweederde van de wegbreedte. En soms ook rechts. Vooral veel slalom.(Tutuuuut! En de tegenliggers doen uiteraard hetzelfde. U denkt dat kan niet, en u heeft gelijk, dat kan niet. En toch lukt het.(Poeaaap!)

Soms zijn er mooie wegmarkeringen aangebracht maar waarom men die moeite heeft gedaan is mij niet duidelijk, en de chauffeurs ook niet. Het verkeer is een gigantische chaos, maar op een of andere manier gaat het toch vrij vlotjes vooruit. (Méépméép!) Vooral op een erg luidruchtige manier. Alle weggebruikers zijn constant aan het claxoneren.(Titoet!) Voor elke bocht, na elke bocht, voor elke tegenligger, bij elke inhaal beweging, bij elke poging tot inhaal beweging. (Tjing tjing!)Zelf alleen op een rechte weg, je kunt blijkbaar net voorzichtig genoeg zijn. Een rikshachauffeur legde mij het uit: Driving in India is very simple. We never look behind or to the sides. We only look in front, we sound our horn, and we drive! (Tuuuuuuuuut!)

En dit is voorlopig mijn laatste gastblogje, ik ben ook al terug in Gent trouwens. Deze blog is weer helemaal aan Monica.

Dank u voor uw aandacht. Karel

I was highschool friends with Clancy,
I hope he's doing ok. Poor guy.

That whole thing was just so fucking wrong.