stoplights and cars

There are people who believe flashing their brights at a red light will make it change faster. It probably also keeps the elephants away, because when was the last time you saw an elephant at a stoplight?

And speaking of cars, it looks like about 50% of the brown haze in the picture accompanying this article comes from cars, and that's why the diesel exhaust seemed to really hang in the air when I went riding yesterday. And yes, you can take a charcoal mask on a bike ride and pull it out of your pocket for emergencies.