AGAIN tonight…
Full closure of northbound lanes on the 405 from Getty Center Dr to Greenleaf tonight, midnight to 5am.

Wilshire Segment (National Bl to Waterford St)

• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction (left turn pocket closed also) near Wilshire tonight, 8pm to 6am.
• Southbound HOV lane closed from Tennessee to north of Olympic tonight, 9pm to 5am.
• Northbound 1, 2 lanes closed from Tennessee to north of Olympic tonight, midnight to 5am.
• Southbound on-ramp/auxiliary lane from Santa Monica Bl closed tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Beloit fully closed from Santa Monica Bl to Nebraska, 9am to 3pm.

Sunset Segment (Waterford St to Getty/Sepulveda Bl)

• Southbound on-ramp from westbound Sunset closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Getty Center Dr fully closed tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Church Ln to Montana tonight, 9pm to 6am
• Church Ln fully closed from Kiel St to southbound on- and off-ramps tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Sunset Bl fully closed from Sepulveda Wy to Gunston tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Homedale to Montana tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Northbound 4, 5 lanes closed from Sunset Bridge to north of Getty Center Dr tonight, 11pm to 6am.
• Southbound HOV/1, 2 lanes closed at Sunset Bridge tonight, 11pm to 5am.
• Southbound HOV/1, lanes closed at Sunset Bridge tonight, 10pm to 5am.
• Northbound off-ramp to Montana partially closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Southbound off-ramp to Sunset Bl closed tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Northbound on-ramp from Sunset Bl closed tonight, 8pm to 6am.
• Northbound off-ramp to Sunset Bl closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Bronwood fully closed at Sepulveda, 9am to 3pm.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Montana to Ovada, 9am to 3pm.
• Sunset Wy fully closed (with flagger) from at Sunset Bl, 8am to 5pm.
• Getty Center Dr fully closed tonight, 11pm to 6am.
•  Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Church Ln to Montana tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Church Ln fully closed from Kiel St to southbound on- and off-ramps tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Sunset Bl fully closed from Sepulveda Wy to Gunston tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda southbound right-turn pocket closed from Moraga to Church Ln tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Homedale to Montana tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Homedale fully closed tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Northbound 4, 5 lanes closed from Sunset Bridge to north of Getty Center Dr tonight, 11pm to 6am.
• Southbound HOV/1, 2 lanes closed at Sunset Bridge tonight, 11pm to 5am.
• Southbound HOV/1 lane closed at Sunset Bridge tonight, 10pm to 5am.
• Northbound off-ramp to Montana partially closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Southbound off-ramp to Sunset Bl closed tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Northbound on-ramp from Sunset Bl closed tonight, 8pm to 6am.
• Northbound off-ramp to Sunset Bl closed tonight, 8pm to 6am.

• Mulholland Segment (Sepulveda Bl to US 101 Highway)

• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from southbound Getty on-ramp to northbound Getty off-ramp, 9pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Mountaingate to Bergreen tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction near Getty Center Dr tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Mulholland Dr westbound lanes closed (with flaggers) at Mulholland Dr Bridge tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Northbound auxiliary lane closed from Mulholland Bridge to Ventura tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Northbound 5/auxiliary lanes closed from Mulholland Bridge to Ventura tonight, 10pm to 7am.
• Northbound 4, 5, auxiliary lanes closed from Mulholland Bridge to Ventura Bl tonight, 11pm to 6am.
• Southbound HOV/1, 2 lanes closed from Valley Vista to Skirball tonight, 10pm to 5am
• Southbound HOV/1 lane closed from Valley Vista to Skirball tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Northbound off-ramp to Getty Center Dr partially closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Northbound on-ramp from Skirball closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Northbound on-ramp from Skirball closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda southbound 2 lane closed near Getty Center Dr, 9:30pm to 3pm.
• Southbound on-ramp from Getty Center Dr closed 10am to 3pm.
• Northbound on-ramp from Skirball closed 9am to 3pm.
• Northbound off-ramp to Skirball closed 9am to 3pm.
• Southbound off-ramp to Valley Vista closed 10am to 3pm.
• Southbound on-ramp from Valley Vista closed 10 am to 3pm.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from southbound Getty on-ramp to northbound Getty off-ramp, 9pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Mountaingate to Bergreen tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction near Getty Center Dr tonight, 9pm to 6am.
• Mulholland Dr westbound lanes closed (with flaggers) at Mulholland Dr Bridge tonight, 10pm to 6am.
• Northbound 5/auxiliary lanes closed from Skirball to Ventura tonight, 10pm to 7am.
• Northbound 4, 5, auxiliary lanes closed from Skirball to Ventura Bl tonight, 11pm to 6am.
• Southbound HOV/1, 2 lanes closed from Valley Vista to Skirball tonight, 10pm to 5am.
• Southbound HOV/1 lane closed from Valley Vista to Skirball tonight, 7pm to 6am.
• Northbound off-ramp to Getty Center Dr partially closed tonight, 7pm to 6am.

Go Metro and Celebrate the 34th Annual L.A. Chinatown Firecracker 5k/10k Run/Walk.

Image from LVRunner

It’s the Chinese Year of the Dragon! Go Metro to celebrate and participate in the running of the 34th Annual L.A. Chinatown Firecracker 5k/10k Run/Walk and Bike Ride on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12. A traditional lion dance and lighting of 100,000 firecrackers will kick off the run.

If you’re not in it for the sporting events, come and enjoy the 5th Annual Nite n’ Day Festival featuring free music, entertainment and cultural acts from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb.11 and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12.
Everyone is welcome to attend free of charge and enjoy the festivities. Those who want to participate in the 5k/10k run or the bike ride can either pay an on-site registration fee of $40 or register online for $38.

Metro riders who register online get $3 off the event registration fee when they use the promotional code GOMETRO. Registered participants who show their valid Metro Rail ticket or Metro pass will receive free bag check-in service Feb. 12.

For information about the celebration and event registration, visit firecracker10k.org. To find the quickest route via Metro visit metro.net and click on the Trip Planner or call 323.GO.METRO (323.466.3876).

I can’t believe I wasn’t able able to participate in No Pants Subway Ride 2012 this year, I won’t miss next year’s! Now, just because I couldn’t make it doesn’t mean you have to miss it! Ahhhh… I love YouTube, blogging and social networking!

Related links:
clothing-optional
No Pants Subway Ride Day Follow-up

Improv Everywhere 

Do you remember when you got your drivers license? I remember when I did. I LOVED driving. Any chance I could get, I would take it and drive…
“Are you sure you don’t need anything from the store Mom? Do you need milk?”
What was I thinking? My Mother doesn’t even drink milk.
“Dad, I’ll go pick up (fill in the blank) for you.”
I’d do anything to drive.
I was desperate to drive.
I was even willing to pick up my brother from acrobatics.

Driving meant I was free.

When did people stop understanding, stop enjoying the act of driving? Driving a car is not passive it is active. Your windshield is not a TV screen. When you are watching TV you can multi-task, when you are driving a vehicle, potentially a weapon, you can’t. Period.
Your windshield is a window that allows you to see not only into your future/where you are going, but it also allows you to see the obstacles that are in the way of your destination/goal. Not often do we get the opportunity to see life so black and white.

Don’t tell me traffic wrecked driving for you? I know sitting in bummer to bummer, mmm… not so fun. Doesn’t feel anything like freedom. Quite the contrary, sitting on the 405 at 5 feels more like being in prison. Such a waste of your time. After all, with so many important things to do, yet traffic insists that you sit there an do nothing. OMG! How awful! (Buddhists would have a field day with this one).
Good Lord, we are so important.

If you missed NPR’s Sonari Glinton’s report this week from the Detroit Auto Show on All Things Considered here it is. (The audio at the bottom of the post)
Basically, it’s about Internet technology/social networking – face-booking and tweeting from your dashboard.   At a time when the Feds would like to ban cell phone use in vehicles and not just texting either, we are talking all cell phone use – even hands free. The jury is in about the dangers of distracted driving. Distracted driving is a cognitive issue, not a physical issue.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called attention to a disturbing fact: Younger drivers are less likely to see texting or talking on cellphones while behind the wheel as dangerous.
The poll found that 63 percent of young people admit to driving while using a cellphone, and 30 percent say they have sent text messages while driving.
The Washington Post reports.

“We are taking action on a number of fronts to address the epidemic of distracted driving in America,” said Secretary LaHood.  “With the help of the experts, policymakers, and safety advocates we’ve assembled here, we are going to do everything we can to put an end to distracted driving and save lives.”

I find the auto industry’s response to this knowledge not surprising but certainly disappointing to say the least. The auto industry not necessarily known for taking the “safe road” on their own volition, instead looking for the “competitive edge” i.e. show me the money.

Think Pinto…

“Pinto, a low-cost car put out by Ford in the early 70′s. The gas tank was easy to damage in a rear-end collision and this often led to the damaged car going up in flames. Ford knew about the lethal flaw but decided that paying out on wrongful-death lawsuits would be cheaper than fixing it. When this was unearthed in one widely publicized case, punitive damages equal to both cost estimates combined were awarded in that one case. They also failed to account for lawsuits by injured victims, having apparently assumed one hundred percent mortality in accidents. Make a “backfiring strategy” joke at your own peril. It should be pointed out that not even every Pinto was a Pinto in this sense- 1971-76 coupes and hatchbacks had the above-mentioned defect; a fix was made beginning from 1977 (look for a heavy plastic shield between the gas tank and differential and a chrome rather than painted gas cap on pre-’77 cars). The wagon model, with the gas tank farther from the rear bumper and a completely different filler neck, was no better or worse than any other small car from The Seventies. Some exported cars were even modified prior to the American make in order to comply with foreign safety requirements…”

Think seat belts….

“The first factory-installed seat belts in the U.S. appeared in the 1950 Nash Statesman and Ambassador models. This was nearly 20 years after U.S. physicians had begun urging auto manufacturers to provide seatbelts in cars.

Until the late 1960s and early 1970s, the automotive industry in the U.S. was almost entirely unregulated, and concern over traffic safety had been minimal. In 1965 an estimated 50,000 people were killed in automobile crashes. That same year, the Senate passed a two-year, $320 million highway beautification bill that provided $5 million for a study of ways to dispose of scrapped cars, and a meager $500,000 for a study of highway safety.

The auto industry at the time believed that safety would not sell, and that an emphasis on a car’s safety features would scare the public. Advertising instead generally focused on a car’s comfort, style, and performance. At the same time, efforts to reduce traffic crashes never focused on the automobile, but rather on the driver or the road.”

Think airbags…..

In the 1980′s, auto manufacturers were faced with a federal mandate to install “passive restraint” safety devices to protect vehicle occupants in the event of a collision. Also known as the “air bag mandate,” this requirement was vigorously opposed by all the major vehicle manufacturers.

Claims of tremendous expense, dubious reliability, and impracticality were amplified by dealers and even auto enthusiast groups. Some foreign manufacturers implied that the air bag mandate would preclude them from staying in the U.S. market. To the rescue came the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) in the persona of Elizabeth Dole.

A deal was cut and it went like this: If the auto industry could get mandatory seat belt laws passed in enough states such that 80% of the population would be covered by such laws, the air bag mandate would be put on indefinite hold.

There are many more examples, but I’m writing a blog here – not a book.

Listening to this from NPR, it is clear to me that the business of making cars hasn’t changed much. When it comes to our safety and making the best choices for consumers and the planet, most auto manufactures only get on board when forced,  kicking and screaming all the way. Hey auto execs how did that work out for ya? As I recall your industry went bankrupt and it was the American people who bailed you out. Seems ironic that you don’t mind killing the very same people that saved you.

Did you hear this???? They are still missing the point. Whether you look up or down or feel the buttons… it doesn’t matter. Distracted driving is cognitive not physical.  Projecting an image on the windshield, really? Because you have a heads-up display (HUD) you think that it is okay. Um… no it’s not.
Sounds way cool, and presses all of our Disney in the future – jet pack expectations, but turns out, oh so wrong.
Updating our status on Facebook, tweeting and re-tweeting such important stuff,
“Hey tweeps, feeling pooped. Gonna get sm coffee”.
Four-squaring our ficticious mayoral west side title and where we are getting our second quadruple non-fat late… and all from our car’s dashboard?
Oh so F-ing wrong.
Let’s. Just. Drive.
And more often than not… relax into bummer to bummer – relish “nothing”, and just drive.

Related:
Here is a link Drive First. It is an Android application that restricts phones from performing potentially dangerous actions while the owner is driving.
Sprint’s Drive First 

images culled from google