Updated WBEZ Member Card Map

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Bicycle Safety for Motorists

Your mom always told you to be careful when you took your shiny new bike out for its first ride, right? Wear your helmet, watch out for cars, etc.

Sharing the road cars does have its dangers, but a study out of the University of Toronto shows that less than 10% of car vs. bike accidents are caused by cyclists. From what I can tell, most of this boils down to drivers not being aware of cyclists around them.

So, drivers buckle up and watch out cyclists. And cyclists, here are some tips from our friends north of the border:

1. Know and follow the rules of the road. Always.


2. Consider taking a course to learn how to share the road as safely as possible with other vehicles. CAN-BIKE courses are offered through the City of Toronto.


3. Find a balance between being a careful rider and being confident enough to claim adequate space on the road within lanes of traffic and around parked cars.


4. Remember that motorists will not necessarily understand what the needs of a cyclist are—so educate yourself. There’s a difference between being assertive and aggressive. Self-preservation should be your primary motivation.


5. If you’re planning to become a regular cycling commuter, there will inevitably be times when you may need to ride in the dark or in the rain, so invest in some lights and some reflective clothing and also buy yourself some good quality rain gear. I ride my bike almost all year round and what I’ve come to realize is that there’s really no such thing as bad weather; there are only bad clothing choices!

(via TreeHugger)

TED- Gordon Brown: Wiring a Web for Global Good

I've become a HUGE fan of TED since I discovered it several months ago. Lately, I've taken to watching a TED Talk on my lunch break. Today's lunchtime video, Gordon Brown: "Wiring a web for global good" in which Brown lays out a challenge to leverage the connectivity of modern communication to spread media which connects people to and "confront[s] the challenges of poverty, security, climate change and the economy."

Brown delivers an excellent message, drawing on examples from Tiananmen Square, the 2007 protests in Burma, and the recent protests and crack down in post-election Iran. He concludes his talk with a comparison I've heard David Gergan say like this, "When Cicero spoke, people said, 'come, let us think.' When Demosthenes spoke, people said, 'come, let us march!'" Brown implores us to use technology in such a way that people march!

Muhammad Yunus - Medal of Freedom

My interest in microfinance has really accelerated lately. First, a good friend of mine read Muhammad Yunus' "Creating a World Without Poverty," which sparked a fascinating, challenging, and inspiring conversation about the application of Yunus' principles to social entrepreneurship and whether or not the negative effects of typical business models could be quantified to equal the profits yielded from the business. Then last week I had a great opportunity to sit in on a Q&A with Jessica Jackley of Kiva.

These two recent things made it all the more exciting to hear that today President Obama awarded Yunus the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor) along with 15 other individuals who he called "agents of change."

Very Good, Low-Tech

Wells Fargo has committed to donate up to $25,000 to Kiva-- $1 for every person that takes a retirement quiz on their site. There is plenty of branding and advertising for Wells Fargo's retirement planning tools, but they require no personal information and provide some basic information on how to prepare for retirement.

BOTTOM LINE: This quiz takes all of 2 minutes and contributes to an excellent organization on the front lines of alleviating poverty through microfinance loans.

Bad Tech: Polaroid Corporation

I'm breaking with my theme early on to tell you all about the terrible and unprofessional business practices of Polaroid Corporation.

Last November I bought a new 4011-TLXB Polaroid LCD Television (yes, Polaroid makes LCD TVs) which broke in May. No problem, right? It's under warranty, so even though Circuit City had gone out of business since I bought the TV, Polaroid would still honor the warranty...right? WRONG!

After hours on the phone with two different call centers (both of which promised service) and 2 1/2 months, I am yet again being told that Polaroid has adopted a policy of refusing repairs for products sold by Circuit City. The problem is that I bought my TV before Circit City's bankruptcy and Polaroid's warranty, which they send out with their products and have on their website, provides no provision for doing this (I've even asked a lawyer for his opinion).

What's my recourse? I've been told that I'll have to "take it up with corporate." The "corporate" phone numbers listed on Polaroid.com never connect you to a Polaroid employee and the automated system simply redirects you to the very people who refuse to do anything. I even resorted to leaving a message on the HR answering machine requesting updated contact information for the individual they tell you to email , Dan Anderson (when I emailed him, I got a mailerdemon reply), but of course no phone calls are returned.

Today I found a new email address for the Director of Marketing and Brand Management, but somehow I don't expect to hear from Lorrie Parent any time soon. I have been researching complaints about Polaroid and aside from making products that fail just past the end of the warranty, terrible customer service seems to be their top priority.

WBEZ Member Card Locations

View WBEZ Member Card Locations in a larger map

I'll admit it, I'm one of those iPhone toting, post-college 20-somethings who, after living in Chicago for 6 years, still doesn't know his way around the city. So when I bumped up my Chicago Public Radio pledge amount and got a Member Card, I was pretty lost navigating the guide by neighborhood.

Contrary to the message of Apple's ads, there is not "an app for that." Not being a programmer myself, I decided to take my best shot making my own map using free online tools (thanks Google, and jEdit). Not incredibly easy to use with an iPhone (place markers don't integrate with Maps app), but it works. Let me know if you find any errors or missing locations.

P.S. If you just got your member card like me, check out Joy Yee Noodle, it's GREAT! (deals only at Evanston and Chicago locations)

P.P.S. If you want to make your own, I suggest copying data into a spreadsheet, making a template of the KML code in Word, using document merge, and checking for errors in jEdit.