Bike-Friendly? Check the City’s Mass Transit System

The bike access provided on Caltrain between San Francisco and San Jose exceeds that in any other major American city. The car being boarded takes 40 bikes; each train has two bike cars.
Green: Living

Two things about my colleague Christine Haughney’s article on the reluctance of New York-area women to become bicycle commuters were striking. One was the main reason cited: fear. (Excessive sweating followed.) The second was an accompanying graphic with data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey indicating which cities have the most bike commuters and from an Australian study looking at gender differences in bike commuting.

Scanning the leader list of this country’s bike commuting meccas — Portland, Ore., Minneapolis and San Francisco — made me wonder if there was a corollary between the percentage of commuters who pedal to work and the degree to which the mass transit and commuter rail systems in those cities welcome bicycles. Ideally, bike commuting should not be restricted to those living relatively close to the workplace, but should include those who need an assist from mass transit.

The women’s fear of bike commuting has to do with competing for road space with larger and more aggressive vehicles. As a former biker in New York City, I understand; before the new bicycle-lane blitz, city streets were unwelcoming. The Bay Area’s roads are a tonic by comparison, even if 101 cyclists in San Francisco were “doored” by car occupants over the last two years.

Stephen Sweeney Will Handle His Disagreement With Chris Christie the Old-Fashioned Way

As the late Elaine Kaufman once said, "Time was, men was men. Now they call a lawyer and sue you." Alas, not in Jersey, where betrayed self-ruled Senate President Stephen Sweeney is threatening to punch Chris Christie, after Christie reportedly reneged on a verbal agreement to call Sweeney, and rejected every Democratic move in his line-item veto of the state budget plan. Sweeney stuck his neck out to support Christie's pension and health reforms, "and his reward was a slap in the face," according to the New Jersey Star Ledger. The governor cut the Senate and Assembly budgets, but not his own, in addition to slash the budgets for college scholarships, legal aid, health care, AIDS funding and mental-health services. (As the Ledger explains, "In New Jersey, the governor has all the power in a budget fight. He simply vetoes any budget line he doesn’t like, and it disappears.") Christie also added $150 million in school aid for the suburbs, include the wealthiest towns in the state. But worst of all, Christie didn't discuss the changes with Sweeney, after reportedly telling Sweeney to wait for his call. Ouchies.

Hair

The beauty and cosmetic industry in India has witnessed a boom over the last few years with the entry of many foreign brands into the Indian beauty and cosmetic market. Despite this sudden boom, experts predict that the Indian cosmetic and beauty industry has great potential for growth.

Naturally this means that all sectors of the beauty and cosmetic industry which includes the hair care industry in India are over-due for expansion.

Hair cuts and hair products have only recently been recognized as an important part of the grooming process. The Indian public now realizes that hairstyles are essential to complete any look and hence modern men and women in India now do take the time and effort to sport the latest hair styles.

However, fashion trends alone cannot dictate which hairstyles people should sport. When choosing a hairstyle, it is important to consider the individual’s hair quality, texture, thickness and natural style as well as the shape of the individual’s face.

It is also important to select a hairstyle that accentuates the individual’s best features and compliments his or her personality while fitting into his or her lifestyle. For instance, a very busy business executive needs a hairstyle that is clean and elegant, but the look must be possible to achieve without much fuss.

All of these factors may make choosing the right hairstyle seem like a difficult decision to make but most people finds that it is a worthwhile subject to fuss over because the perfect hairstyle can do wonders for your appearance as well as boost your confidence levels tremendously.

For men, one of the main problems is how to cope with natural hair loss. Fortunately there are many ways to remedy the situation in modern times. There are techniques like hair grafting and weaving that can help men retain their full heads of hair. In addition there are also many herbal and chemical tonics and lotions that prevent or slow down hair loss. As far as hair styles are concerned, men now have a host of choices. Modern men may wear their hair at different lengths from the very closely shaved crew cut hairstyle to very long hair lengths. Modern Indian men also use hair color and highlights to achieve different hairstyles and alter their looks.