SOPA and PIPA

Today many sites (including Wikipedia, Flickr, Reddit, and Google) have gone dark to raise awareness of 2 bills currently being considered in congress that if passed would effectively censor the internet. The intended purpose of these two bills, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT IP Act), is to protect copyright, but it's far too broad and vague. These bills could easily be abused and shut down harmless sites, such as this blog. They would restrict freedom of speech, while not really protecting copyrighted material at all.

Please get informed and contact your representatives to urge them to not support these bills. Visit http://americancensorship.org/ to learn more, then use the Congress Lookup Page to find your representatives' contact information and contact them today! You can also see which senators/representatives support each bill at these links:

For SOPA: projects.propublica.org/sopa/
For PIPA: projects.propublica.org/sopa/pipa#roll_call

Bike-to-Work Week & Bike Month

May is National Bike Month. The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 16. There are events going on all over the country. Orlando & Starbucks are celebrating Bike-to-Work day by offering free coffee if you ride your bike and bring your own mug on Friday, May 16 (see flyer).

50 ways (large PDF) to celebrate Bike Month

Reasons to bike to work:

• Save time: biking the same distance is often shorter because you do not have to sit in traffic or find a parking spot. Taking back roads can often make the distance shorter than driving.
• Save money: you won't be using your car as much, so you won't need to fill up the gas tank as often.
• Help the environment: less driving means less pollution.
• Get fit: Biking to work is a great way to make working out a part of your daily routine and get at least the recommended 30 minutes a day.
• Enjoy the weather: you see more of the world when you are not stuck in traffic and can explore the scenic routes.