Ride Home 8/11

My bike is dirty. I'm really going to need to address that. Relatedly, we've had our car since November and I don't think we've ever washed it. No plans to address that.
It's rare that I ride from work behind someone from the top of the hill to the bottom. Today it was a guy with some road bike and Pearl Izumi sneaker-style shoes and a little backpack with the AU SOC logo on it.  He rode in front of me, looking back a few times to see if I was still there. I was. And then at the bottom of the hill, he turned into one of the apartment buildings and presumably was home. It must be a weird bike commute for him; about a mile each way and either right up the hill or right down the hill. It's one of those situations where the bike is probably the best way to get where you're going, but I don't think it'd be very fun.
Burleith is full of criminals. In that driving through stop signs is a crime. I didn't see a single driver who came to a complete stop. Just an observation, not a judgment. Do what you want. Just try not to hit someone.
My brakes are making some horrible noises. This is my bike's way of saying that I'm neglectful. Sorry, bike.
There's a spectre that's haunting Washington. The spectre of male shirtlessness (sorry, Karl). I don't know what it is about vaguely athletic pursuits that requires so many men to doff their tops, but it's curious. And oddly prevalent. Today, a rather petite shirtless man rode his little racing bike past me as I waited, rightly, for a light to change and weaved through oncoming traffic. Perhaps his inability to speed was a result of the lack of wind resistance from his lack of shirt, I don't know. This act (riding past, not his shirtlessness [per se]) peeved me for whatever reason and I wanted to prove to him (in the stupidest way possible) that a shirt in now way inhibits rapid bicycling, but my pursuit was essentially fruitless and he was long gone prior to standing up for 'shirts rights'.
The usual mix of careless drivers distracted by cellphones and car radios and (maybe) passenger side easy bake ovens accompanied me for the rest of the trip. No penny-farthings. A few blocked bike lanes. I feel it's my civic, bikerly duty to make dramatic shows of glaring at drivers blocking bike lanes after I ride by them. It doesn't exactly "help"or "make me feel better," but it at least serves the purpose of signifying to those around me, most of whom are driving cars, that I'm peeved by the lack of conscientiousness exhibited.