Thoughts & Deeds

The launch of Google Maps’ “Bike There” feature has been a pretty big deal in Portland. After poking around on it a bit, Joseph Rose from the Oregonian asked his Twitter followers if it seemed a little “beta” to them. I replied that it was “very beta” and was even published, though my follow-up tweet wasn’t published and my real point was lost. It wasn’t until I was on a long ride over the weekend that I realized exactly why the Bike There feature felt beta to me. … more

We had an interesting experience in Portland this past weekend when our typically pristine water supply was tainted by e. coli, affecting west-side residents and businesses. That meant that anyone served by the tainted reservoir had to boil their water before using it — which is no big deal for people who are used to camping — and the city government had to get the word out about the contamination. Now that is a pretty big deal. … more