When Twitter and Super Mario Collide

Sure, there are a lot of nonsensical tweets out there. (Notwithstanding @chescastaana's posts of course.) And if you happen to be one of those who wish to spice up how they navigate their Twitter page, check out Super Twario, the new iPhone app that turns your whole Twitter experience into an arcade game.

Instead of scrolling up and down the screen, Super Twario lets you swipe, tap and tilt your way across the Twitterverse. Players get points for certain actions such as replying and retweeting, and a whole lot of extra points for getting replies, followers, and #FFs. What’s more, scores and stats are sent to the Game Center so you’ll be able to see how you rank among your Twitter friends. Let the battle of the Tweets begin.



[via Engadget and iTunes App Store]

YouTube to Stream Hollywood Flicks?

Our favorite web giants are trailing each other’s steps once again. You’ve all heard about Apple having talks with major networks to seal the deal on show rentals, right? Well, only days after that got out, we got wind that Google is also on to the same thing.

It’s been reported that Google is touching base with major Hollywood studios in hopes that they can bring streaming film rentals to Youtube. According to Ars Techinica, the Financial Times reported that these on-demand movies will simultaneously be offered with their DVD release for around five bucks a pop. Moreover, Google’s hoping to stream these films via YouTube by the end of the year.

Movie buffs, keep your fingers crossed!

[via Ars Technica]

Woman Attempts to Smuggle Tiger at the Airport

Now we’ve heard about a lot of weird stuff that people try to smuggle in and out of the country, but this particular incident definitely makes it to the top of our list.

A sedated tiger cub was uncovered at the Bangkok airport yesterday when the X-ray scanner revealed images that looked like a real cat. A Thai woman who was set to board a flight to Iran, apparently tried to smuggle the baby tiger by packing it together with stuffed toys.

All we have to say is that it’s a good thing that the airport staff was on top of their game. We’d hate to see an adorable creature like that end up drugged and trapped in some suitcase with noting but stuffed tiger wannabees for company.

[via MSNBC]

Will ‘E-personation’ be Outlawed in California?

A bill intended to crack down on online fraud is currently sitting on Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk, awaiting his signature.

This anti-‘e-personation’ bill is backed by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo-Alto). According Simitian, “In the age of the Internet, pretending to be someone else is as easy as using their name to create a new e-mail account. When that is done to cause harm, folks need a law on the books they can turn to,”

Apparently, there is already an existing law similar to the bill, but it dates back to 1872 and only covers forgery of a person’s signature. This bill intends to include Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail to that.

However, there are some grey areas pertaining to the bill, such as what really constitutes “credible impersonation.” Since some activists temporarily impersonate corporations and politicians as a form protest, the bill’s take on such events is still up for discussion and debate.

[via Ars Technica]

Gaga Officially Becomes Twitter Queen

Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) is now the most followed person on Twitter with 5.72 million followers, overtaking Britney Spears who has 5.71 million. Aside from Twitter, it appears that Gaga generally rules most of social media as well. Not only does she have 16.37 million fans on Facebook, but Famecount also ranks her as the top celebrity on the Internet with a perfect score of 100.

So far, Lady Gaga has been gracious in accepting her title as the queen of Twitter. In her inauguration video, she thanks all her followers and wishes them “soft cuticles while tweeting” and that they “may never have carpool tunnel.” She further promises to “never partake in celebrity online shenanigans.”



[via Salon and Lady Gaga]

Wii Fit: From Living Rooms to Locker Rooms

The Wii Fit is just so cute isn’t it? It lets me play games that don’t let me think too much, not to mention it makes me believe that I'm great at sports and I'm flexible enough to do yoga.

Turns out, I'm not the only one who loves the fitness board; two universities in the US are pretty fond of the Wii Fit as well. (Although probably not for the same reasons as I am.)

Ohio State University and the University of Maryland recently adopted the Wii Fit into their locker rooms in order to determine whether their football players have concussions or not.

Before each game, the fitness board will measure players’ balance and coordination using yoga and table tilt respectively. This will serve as a gauge to determine whether or not athletes can keep playing throughout the game.

The Hundred Dollar Wii Fit will be replacing plate machines that can cost up to 10 grand. Notwithstanding the huge price gap, the universities on board (no pun intended) deemed it as “pretty decent.”

[via Engadget]

Google the Movie?

If you were one of those people who marked their calendars for the premier of The Social Network, then you’re going to want to make space for this as well.

It was recently reported that Michael London’s Groundswell Productions along with producer John Morris intend to acquire the rights to Googled: The End of the World As We Know it, a book by Ken Auletta that chronicles the rise of Google. The book will be used to map out the plot of the movie, which according to London, will focus on Larry Page and Sergey Brin (founders of the company).

“It’s about these two young guys who created a company that changed the world, and how the world in turn changed them.” London states. He furthers, “Can you stay true to principles like that as you become as rich and powerful as that company has become? The intention is to be sympathetic to Sergey and Larry, and hopefully the film will be as interesting as the company they created.”

[via TIME and Deadline.com]

Virgin Galactic’s Test Flight Encounters Trouble

Looks like the world will have to wait a bit more before earthlings can take a vacation in outer space. WhiteKnightTwo, Virgin Galactic’s passenger-carrying spaceship collapsed during its landing at the Mojave Desert on Thursday.

Technicalities weren’t disclosed, but apparently, it was due to a damaged left main landing gear.

No injuries were reported (whew!) However, this means that citizens of the world, most especially the 300 clients who already put down 200 grand for a ticket will have to be more patient because they obviously won’t be zooming out of the Earth’s atmosphere any time soon.

[via MSNBC]

The Device That Stops Drunkards from Driving

New Yorkers sure are lucky that their streets are swarming with cabs that can get them home, because drunk driving in the Empire State just got a little more expensive. Effective August 16, anyone found guilty of drunk driving in New York will be required to hook up their car with an ignition interlock. Drivers must blow into the unit and if it senses that their blood-alcohol level is at 0.025 or higher, their vehicle will refuse to start.

On top of all the fees and embarrassment that comes with a DWI, the interlock costs about $125 to install, with $70 – $110 of monthly fees.

Oh, and don’t even think of letting your buddy breathe into the device for you, since most ignition interlocks will have cameras on them. Besides, getting caught trying to help an offender will entail jail time for about a year.

We don’t know yet if this new policy will dramatically cut drunk driving cases in NY, so we all just have to wait and see. Either way, we’re pulling for all you New York!



[via Syracuse and Highway Traffic Board]

Tokyo Installs Vending Machines That Can Recognize Demographics

Behold, the future of vending machines has arrived. Last week, two vending machines with the ability to recognize the demographics of its customers were installed in Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, Japan.

These vending machines have a 75% chance of accurately recognizing a person’s age and sex. Based on the information that it gathers, the machines can then make recommendations on what drinks a person can get.

Pretty cool, we have to admit, although we’re hoping that the machine’s 75% accuracy level would improve in the future. After all, we wouldn’t it telling us what we should and shouldn’t drink because it thinks that we’re some five year old on a sugar high.



[via examiner]

Vogue’s Oil Spill-Inspired Shoot Raises Eyebrows

For its August issue, Vogue Italia had a spread featuring model Kristen McMenamy mostly dressed in black looking oily and dirty (yet still fierce.) One photo actually had her dressed in feathers covered in oil while another shot showed her spitting up water while lying on the rocks.

Now a bold move like this one which is practically immortalized in glossy paper on news stands will not go unnoticed. Immediately after it was released, the spread conjured up various opinions both from inside and outside the fashion industry.

Some people were hurt and offended by the spread, while others, such us ourselves, didn’t find it vulgar or offensive at all. What can we say, that’s fashion; it’s all about taking feisty risks. Besides, how else would an industry giant such as Vogue make a statement?

[via MSNBC]

Website Taking Bets in Order to Motivate Students

Sports betting getting a little too old for you? Do you need motivation to ace that mind-numbing class? Then you may want to swing by Ultrinsic, a website that will let students set wagers on their grades.

It all starts with having users sign up and give Ultrinsic access to their class schedules and school records. The site then uses these factors as well as other information that it can dig up on the classes and the students in order to calculate a certain grade. The student then decides how much he or she is willing to bet on it.

Needless to say, this has already sparked a debate among adults. Should this be considered as gambling and therefore be banned from campus? Or is it perfectly legit since students are relying solely on their skills and are betting on themselves?

[via TIME]

Sharpie’s Wonder Pen

We agree with Engadget. Sharpie’s new pen may not be considered the highest or most sophisticated of tech and gizmos, but it sure is cute enough to be discussed here. Check out the new Sharpie Liquid Pencil that writes like a pen and erases like a pencil.

Yep, that last statement pretty much says it all. The pen does a pretty good job in a erasing its ink, although the actual physical marks on the paper are a lot harder to take out. And while Sharpie’s blog says that it “erasableness” of the lasts for three days, the box says it takes 24 hours.

See the video demo below.



[via Engadget]

Vegas Thinking About Banning Hula-Hoops

Of all the so-called crazy things to ban in Sin City, they just had to set their eyes on the hula-hoops.

No, this doesn’t mean that you can’t hula to your hips’ content in the comfort of your own home. But the city is fighting to ban hula-hooping in the downtown area, also known as the Fremont Street Experience.

According to the city council, hula-hoopers are obstructing traffic and aren’t really providing a pleasant experience to tourists.

Of course, hula-hoopers as well as other street artists are wildly protesting to the idea, stating that it’ll kill their livelihood.

Needless to say, we’re going to side with the street artists in this case. Banning hula-hoops in Vegas is like forbidding New Yorkers to yell “Get the f*ck out of the way!” to slow pedestrians. All the original and crazy things the people see and hear on the street are part of the whole city experience, and no, the council isn’t doing tourists a favor by taking them away.



[via TIME and AOL]

WiFi to Hit the Streets of NYC

If you’re looking for WiFi free for all then you better start packing for New York. Aside from the agreement to install WiFi in New York’s subway system, LimoRes Car & Limo, the proponent of this service is planning to install free advertising-supported service in about a thousand Livery cabs by fall of this year. The people inside the cab as well as anyone within 400 feet of the vehicle will be able to catch free WiFi for their gadgets.

Of course, if it’s extremely important for you to have Internet access, then it’s best not to rely on this service too much. After all, you wouldn’t want to end up chasing after the cab when the light turns green and your Web access goes speeding off with the other cars.

[via NY1 and poopcity]

San Francisco Installs Hi-Tech Parking Meters

Driving and parking in San Francisco can be a drag especially to those who are used to wide freeways and parking lots at each corner. However, with the SF Park project, the stress of finding a space in the city just got a little lighter. The San Francisco Transit Authority started replacing old parking meters in the city with meters that accept credit cards and are equipped with sensors that can measure the demand for parking spaces. These new meters can compute the price of parking based on the availability of the spaces. The more spaces available, the lower the parking fee and vice versa.

In addition, drivers can actually check up on parking spaces online which can give them an idea of traffic and parking conditions even before they leave the house.

[via Switched]

YouTube Raises Upload Limits

Do you feel like you’ve been cheated out of your fifteen minutes of fame? Fret no more, because YouTube just increased the time limit of videos that users are allowed to upload by fifty percent.

That means that aspiring celebrities can now broadcast themselves for up to fifteen minutes on the site and video junkies will have more time to bask in their favorite YouTube content from vlogs, to bloopers, to pet tricks.

Apparently, lengthening the duration of uploaded videos is the number one request that they receive from users. And according to the company’s blog, they were finally able to give in to the viewers’ request because their Content ID system is working so well. YouTube is proud to disclose that their efforts to protect copyright owners proved to be successful, and because of this, they are able to increase the upload limit of original content.

[via YouTube and The New York Times]

Students Lack Search Engine Savviness

It seems that students nowadays have become so used to the thought of the top being the best that they failed to see that the said notion doesn’t apply to search engine results.

A paper published in the International Journal of Communication revealed that in doing research, most students automatically click on the first generated result without so much as a second though on the source’s credibility. Out of the 102 college freshmen that were included in the study, only 10 percent acknowledge the author or the author’s credentials, while zero of the students actually verified the qualifications of their sources.

The solution that was offered to this problem fell on the educators. It was suggested that professors should inform students about the websites that are credible and the ones that are not. Still though, we think that students are already being spoon-fed with enough stuff and teaching them to scroll down further in the search page shouldn’t be part of the curriculum.

[via ArsTechnica]

The Leaf: Nissan’s Mainstream Electric Car

Of course what a vehicle looks like matters to us. We wouldn’t want our cars to be teased and bullied by other autos on the road now, would we? And while we totally support “green” cars and their efforts to lessen their carbon footprints on the planet, we think that some of them aren’t as sleek as they should be, looks wise. (*cough* Prius.)

But then the Nissan Leaf enters the scene and proves that it’s possible for a car to be a tree-hugger and a cutie at the same time.

Of course, it’s not all about looks. Under the hood, the Leaf has about 107 horsepower and 208 pound-feet of torque with a top speed nearing 90 mph. Not bad for a city car whose range reaches a hundred miles per charge. Sure, it’s not a bad ass race car, but then again, people who opt for electric cars aren’t in it for the freeway chases, anyway.

Sticker price is a little over thirty grand and government rebates and incentives bring the costs down to around $25,000.

Just in case you’re wondering, no, we’re not paid cheerleaders or sponsors of the Nissan Leaf; we just think it’s cute, that’s all. Besides, we’d hate to see the 16,300 people who already reserved a lease on the car be disappointed.

[via Autoblog]

The Story of the Fatal Facebook Feud

We understand how girls can go gaga over the bad boy, but isn’t getting into a deadly car chase because of a guy who’s in prison taking it a little too far?

Since we don’t normally write about murder cases, we’re going to spare you the gory details of how a Facebook rivalry between two girls over a guy in prison led to a car chase in Michigan that resulted in the injury of one of the rivals and death of her friend.

Instead, allow us to leave you guys some friendly social network advice: If you get offended by a wall post or something, just take a deep breath and swallow a chill pill. Otherwise, next thing you know, you’ve got blood on your hands and you’re testifying in court. And yeah, you’ll probably be behind bars just like that boy you were fighting over.

[via Yahoo!News and Wikipedia]

Turning Your Handwriting into a Font

Sometimes, even in the long list of fonts that you have in our computer, do you ever wish that there was type face that was completely, 100% you? We know we have, which is why we were thrilled to find out about PilotHandwriting.com, a web app the turns a person’s handwriting into a font.

Three easy steps are all it takes before you can send out personalized emails to your friends. Just print out a template that they have on their website, fill out the form with each letter, and take a photo of it with your webcam. After maybe a few tweaks here and there, your handwriting is ready to be published.

And yes, cheesy as it may sound, we must say that PilotHandwriting said it best: People communicate by writing and sending the world’s first-ever handwritten emails. In doing so, the recovered a part of their identity they’d lost online.




[via TechLand]

The Most (–insert adjective here–) Beer Ever!

The End of History. Nope, that’s not some apocalyptic blockbuster coming to theatres this fall; it’s actually a new kind of beer—and a very strong, pricey one at that.

Sure, BrewDog sells them at $765 a pop, but come on, it contains 55% alcohol by volume too. And if that doesn’t reel you in, they’re going to throw in a dead animal as well. Yep, part of the package of The End of History is that it comes inside a deceased squirrel, hare, or stoat.

Of course, like every other bold move in history, this beer has received mixed reactions. Frankly, a part of us is irked at the thought of our drink stuffed inside a dead rodent or weasel, but we can’t help our curiosity. Fifty-five percent, huh? What sort of hangover will that bring us? Hmmmm.

The End of History from BrewDog on Vimeo.

[via TIME]

Users’ Discontent With Facebook is Now Quantified

There is a fine line between love and hate. That is definitely the case with Facebook’s abysmal user ratings. For a website with nearly 500 million members, we have to say we were a little surprised to find Facebook at the same level with cable companies and airlines in terms of customer satisfaction.

Apparently, privacy issues as well as the constant revamping of the site are the main contributors to its low consumer rating.

There were also reports that Mark Zuckerberg will have an on-air interview this Wednesday with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.

Will Zuckerberg pull a Steve Jobs by saying “We’re not perfect” or will he give us full-length apology? Either way, there are about 500 Million people out there waiting to hear what he has to say.

[via MSNBC and Mashable]

PR2: The Robot That Delivers Beer

“Beer” and “Robot.” We never thought we’d use those two awesome words in one sentence until we got wind of the Willow Garage PR2—the robot that can bring people beer from the refrigerator.

The guys at Willow Garage created a web interface wherein users can pick the type of beer that they want and program the robot to get it for them. The robot then scoots over to the refrigerator and uses its camera to detect the correct type of beer. It takes the beverage, places it on the cup holders on its base and delivers the drink to the person who ordered it. To make sure that it doesn’t drop the beer, the robot won’t let go of the bottle until it detects a face in front of it. And to top it off, our new best friend also has a built in bottle opener.

Of course, the PR2 can also do other nice things like play pool, and plug and unplug devices, but we believe that delivering beer it by far its coolest ability yet.



[via TFTS and WillowGarage]

The Top Lies That People Put in Their Online Dating Profiles

Can’t find an “honest” relationship in real life? Well, don’t get your hopes up for finding one on the internet.

OkTrends, the official blog of free online dating site OKCupid recently did a study of the 1.51 million user profiles in the site and rounded up the top lies that people put in their profiles to make them seem more attractive. These lies include misleading information about their height (men usually say that they’re two inches taller than they really are); sexuality (80% of people who claim they’re bisexual are really only interested in one gender); and income (most users are 20% poorer than they claim.) Needless to say, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. But hey, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the only reason that people lie on their profiles is because shallow details like someone’s height is overshadowing who they are on the inside. Who knows, in real life, these people could actually have stunning personalities. That is if you could get past the whole, you know, lying thing.

[via TIME and OkTrends]

The Periodic Table of Swearing

For this entry, we’re going to keep it short and sweet.

Behold, for your viewing pleasure as well as all your trash-talk needs: The Periodic Table of Swearing. We’re not quite sure when it first came out, but it is apparently back on the market due to popular demand.

We’d describe it in words, but frankly, there’s nothing we can possibly write that can top whatever’s written above.

[via kottke and ModernToss]

Which nation Googles the dirtiest terms?

Google recently did an analysis of search queries on their site and was able to round up the countries that search for pornographic material the most. And topping that list, outranking every other nation is, wait for it… Pakistan.

Yes folks, the “Land of the Pure.” The very same country that continuously monitors the web for blasphemous content, and even banned Facebook at some point, holds the top notch for queries like “donkey sex” and “rape sex.”

So we’re guessing it’s okay for Pakistan citizens to watch animal sex videos, as long as these videos do not contain and anti-Islamic content. Sure. That makes sense.

[via FOXNews]

Search Engines Dive Deeper to Reel Users In

In an age where a billion-dollar company can come crashing down even before you can say “refresh,” Internet companies, even the giant search engines are doing everything they can to incorporate themselves in every aspect of people’s lives in order to remain relevant.

MSN recently introduced Bing Entertainment, Google is butting in everyone’s business by getting into Social Networking and Travel, and Yahoo… well, the big Purple exclamation point is gearing towards a more subtle approach.

According to their researchers in Barcelona, they are looking into tailor-fitting search results to fit an individual’s demographic information (age, gender, education). After all, there are a lot of ambiguous search terms out there, and the relevance of these terms largely depends on a person’s background. For instance, “women searching for ‘wagner’ probably wants the 18th-century German composer, while for men in the US ‘wagner’ is a paint sprayer.”

Moreover, search engines may also start playing “follow the cursor” as research apparently indicates that 70% of users move the mouse with the text that they’re following on screen. So what will their cursor spying mean for us? Well, being able to track what people are interested in reading will allow companies to place more appropriate ads on a certain page.

[via NewScientist and Search Engine Reviews]

Will photography as we know it be obsolete in twenty years?

That’s what the guys at Canon are predicting. In the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai this week, Canon introduced a concept device called the Wonder Camera, an instrument that pretty much puts all types of cameras ever made to shame.

The Canon Wonder Camera, still in its vision phase, would supposedly have a focal length from macro to 500 mm with just one lens. It’ll also have a colossal amount of storage space, advanced facial-recognition capabilities, and an all-touch interface. (None of which have specifications yet.) But those things we mentioned are just the sprinkles on top of this piece of technology. Because the Canon Wonder Camera is actually a video camera designed to shoot footage of extremely high resolution so that users can view it at a later time, and pick the shots that they want without comprising the quality of the stills.

This Wonder Camera will apparently enable users to zoom and crop all they want while still keeping all the hi-res goodness of their shots. As Engadget puts it, “No more standing around waiting for that perfect moment — just shoot freely and figure it out later.” Yep, photojournalists and sports photographers will clamor for this and rejoice.

Nevertheless, while we at Clement & Co. cannot deny how amazing this thing is, we can’t help but feel a little bummed for photography as an art. As arsty-fartsy as it is, the beauty and pride of shooting that perfect moment as it happens makes all the standing and waiting worth it. We can’t help but wonder if gadgets like these contribute to the declining creativity of the country.

So Canon said it’ll take about 20 years before the Wonder Camera makes its debut? Oh please. At the rate that technology is advancing, our little digital cameras are lucky if they live to see the next decade.



[via Engadget]

Youtube Releases New Format Called Leanback

On July 7, Youtube unveiled Leanback, the website’s new format that automatically takes users to full screen mode, lines up videos that might interest them, and plays clips one after the other without pausing. And none of that browsing and clicking either. Leanback can fully function with the use of a QWERTY keyboard.

It also has a feature where in users can link their Youtube accounts to Facebook, in which your friends’ videos can be added to lineup.

The video quality kind of sucks right now, but we’re guessing that’s because it’s still on its beta phase. If they improve on that, as well as work on the selection of better content for viewers, then maybe, just maybe, Youtube can pull of being the Pandora of videos.

[via Salon and MSNBC]

Web Surfers Trust Internet Heavyweights More than Facebook and Twitter

Much to no one’s surprise, Web Giants Google, Apple and Microsoft are still better at keeping people’s trust than top networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Zogby International. The market research company surveyed around 2100 individuals on their take on various types of media, and results indicate that overall, users nowadays trust new media more than traditional media.

And topping that new media bracket? None other than the top three internet bigshots. Of course, this isn’t to say that Social Networks such as Facebook and Twitter completely suck when it comes to privacy. It just means that big firms like Google, Microsoft, and Apple are doing a great job in leveraging their hard-earned resources, reputation, and corporate identities. Facebook and Twitter, being relatively new, may not be quite there yet. But we at Clement & Co really aren’t worried about our two favorite social networks. With their growing amount of followers and resources, it’s just a matter of time before they catch up with the big boys.

Nonetheless, if you ask us, the most important ramification of Zogby International’s study is the fact that it will get leading websites to spruce up their privacy settings. After all, nothing makes a company suck up to the public more than unflattering statistics.

via Telegraph.co.uk]

The Proverbial Wallet: Turning Spenders into Savers

So yesterday we told you about the car that drives by its self when it thinks you’re too reckless. If that doesn’t make a straightedge out of you, then maybe this wallet would.

Check out the wallet that gets harder to open as you get lower in funds. Currently being developed by MIT, this Proverbial Wallet does three things that your regular wallet can’t do: First, it grows and shrinks depending on how much money you have in your accounts; it vibrates whenever you make a purchase using a credit card; and finally, it resists being opened when your bank account’s balance is running low.

We don’t know much about the technicalities of this gadget yet, but according to Techland, it “would apparently use the Bluetooth connection on your cell phone to relay bank information.”

We have to say, this is the type of gadget that may piss us off during those days when we’re tempted to splurge our troubles away, but in the long run, people are going to end up thanking it. Besides, in this day and age, it’s very rare to find a gadget that urges us to save money instead of the other way around.

[via Techland]

The Vehicle That Will Send Smart Cars Back to Kindergarten

If cars suddenly took on the form of children in a classroom, then this car would be the snitch that annoys the hell out of everyone, even the smart cars.

Intel is currently developing intelligent cars with fitted black boxes similar to those used in aircrafts. These black boxes record video footage and driving behavior in the vehicle. The info can be sent to the police and insurance companies in order to prevent finger pointing in case of an accident.

Now that’s pretty cool, we have to admit. The next part, while awesome, is also kinda scary. Other developments of this intelligent car include recognizing streets signs and reckless driving behavior. If the car senses that the driver ignored certain street signs, the technology can take over the vehicle and set it straight.

Uh-oh. Reckless drivers need to start following the rules now.

[via The Telegraph]

Santa Monica Dons a Couple of Sharrows

If you’re one of those drivers who think that road has no place for vehicles with less than four wheels, then you’re not gonna like this.

The city of Santa Monica in SoCal recently painted “shared lane arrows” or “sharrows” on 14th Street between the avenues of Washington and Montana. The symbol is depicted with a bike right under two chevrons. It encourages cyclists to veer towards the left side of the road while at the same time reminding car drivers that the road is meant to be shared.

These sharrows are part of an ongoing project of the county in order to make the roads more bike friendly. Apparently, Los Angeles is following the footsteps (or bike tracks, rather) of other US cities such as Denver and San Francisco.

We at Clement & Co. have absolutely no objections regarding these sharrows, granted that they’re painted on appropriate places. After all, putting those bike symbols on roads that are bumpy or way too narrow can do more harm than good to cyclists.

In any case, for motorists who do not wish to coexist with cyclists, we suggest taking the freeway whenever possible, because sharrows are here to stay and are going to be popping up in more and more places.

[via LA Times]