Came across an article today that starting me thinking and wondering (Yes, I know that can be dangerous.) It involves your life in cyberspace. More specifically your afterlife in cyberspace. What happens to the information that exists out there after you die? What about those accounts that you may have setup and have not shared log-in information with your loved ones, especially banking or financial accounts? What about FaceBook, MySpace, Yahoo, Google, you get the idea. It is almost impossible to get these companies to give you access to these accounts, even with proof of death. Really, think about all the places you visit on the internet, and all the accounts with retailers and others that you have. What happens to them when you are gone. And those pictures you uploaded to flickr?? They could be out there for a while...

This weekend had an issue that reminded me of why I like to ride my bike. On Saturday I decided to drive the car to work my shift at the Georgia Aquarium. Well at the end of my shift, what is normally a 20 minute ride back home turned into a 1 hour exercise in frustration. Seems there was a big event at the Georgia Dome (Battle of the Bands) and the traffic in and around the area was a mess. Atlanta PD had set all the traffic lights to flashing and were directing traffic. Sounds like a reasonable plan right?? Wrong!! They were so concerned with getting traffic away from the Dome they failed to realize that some folks have to drive towards the Dome to get home.

I tried all the side roads I could think of but they were packed with people trying to avoid the traffic. Streets that are normally 2 way traffic were turned into one way streets by the APD to move people out of the area. I eventually drove westbound away from the Dome into some, shall we say, unsavory, parts of town before I could finally release myself from the traffic nightmare. By the time I got home I know my blood pressure was getting higher, and my tolerance for the PD was stretched thin. And I also realized that I could of avoided this all by riding the bike to the aquarium. It maght of been a bit cold and damp, but that was a small price to pay compared to the frustration I endured.

And some facts that makes me feel good and a bit safer in regards to my bike riding.. Was looking over some traffic safety facts from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration pedal-cyclists (bicyclists, tricylists and unicyclists) traffic fatalities. Let me share some of them with you;

• 716 pedal-cyclists were killed in 2008 making up 2% of all traffic fatalities.
• The numbers of deaths in 2008 is 6% lower than in 1998, despite an increase in the number of pedal-cyclists on the road.
• Fatalities for pedal-cyclists occurred more ofter in urban setting (69%)
• at non-intersection locations (64%)
• and between the hours of 5pm and 9pm (28%)
• Most accidents occurred in the months of June (9%) and September (12%)
• Average age of pedal-cyclists killed in 1998 was 32; in 2008 it was 41.
• Males made up the largest percentage of deaths at 87%.
• In regards to Georgia; 1,493 total traffic fatalities in 2008 of which only 20 (1.3%) involved pedal cyclists that's 2.06 pedal-cyclists fatalies per million. Compared to 2.35 national average. (Florida had the highest at 6.62 per million

Take care and keep those wheels spinning..