CycleDog tells me that cute kitten pictures are good for website traffic.

The United States spends almost one billion dollars every day on imported crude oil and petroleum products. I disabled the Energy Use widget shortly after the New Year — after seeing 10 digit values on the 2nd day I figured I had an arithmetic error of some kind in the code. I couldn’t imagine that we actually send that much money overseas every day of the year so I assumed the code was wrong.

I went back to the official numbers from the US Department of Energy and confirmed that we indeed spent $900,000 every day on imported petroleum and petroleum products. I’ve changed the code a little (removed some extraneous calculations and slowed the timer interval to ease the burden on your computer), but other than that the arithmetic is unchanged from before.

To put the energy widget on your own website, click here. Some other sites that now use this widget include Bello Velo, Bicycle Musings and Slowmotion Revolution.

While we’re talking dollars, did anybody hear this news that the U.S. dollar is no longer accepted for payment at many tourist sites in India, including the Taj Mahal? Supermodel Gisele Bundchen also won’t accept her pay in dollars, preferring her pay in euros instead.

On a happier note for American business, the weak dollar means foreign tourists are flocking to U.S. destinations. I already knew this — every ex-pat Dane I’ve met in the USA immediately buys or leases the biggest American SUV available and gets a huge home in the suburbs — but it turns out those stylish and morally superior bike-riding Danish people really like to drive when they visit the United States.

The weak dollar also makes American exports less expensive, encouraging exports of American products. If you’re an American missionary dependent on American dollars for your support, however, you’re kind of hosed economically.

Photo: Cycling Manual Chapter 1 by Scott Mucci in Cupertino. He has lots of other cool Bay Area cyclocross and road racing action photos on his blog — check it out.

A reader wrote into the the Mr. Roadshow column the other day in the Mercury News:

Q. I work across the street from the Googleplex. I am sending you a message that I sent to the Mountain View police, as the behavior of the Googlers doesn’t seem to be changing:

“This afternoon at approximately 3:55 p.m. I was almost run over by a Google bicycle who came upon me silently from behind as I was walking on the sidewalk. He did apologize. I said, ‘This is why you belong on the bike path.’

“I am tired of this. A few weeks ago, I saw a pedestrian fall down trying to get out of the way of a Googler on a bicycle on the sidewalk.

A. A Googlers, explain your actions.

And so, Googler Bob Sutterfield did in the comments and in an email to Mr. Roadshow:

I am a Googler and a bicycle instructor (LCI, not my day job). We have ongoing efforts to let people know they must ride on the street, following the rules of the road. Some Googlers persist in thinking they should behave as pedestrians. Either they haven’t heard the message yet (lots of new staff), or they don’t listen because they think they already know better. Yes, it’s a problem, and our Safety office works closely with MVPD to improve the situation.

Keep up the great work, Bob! Bob is also supports the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition through his membership and active involvement with local cycling advocacy.

Here’s a photo I took of a Googler on one of the free blue bikes Google provides for intracampus transportation at the Googleplex.

Watch this wonderful TV commercial from the World Wildlife Fund. It aired on primetime television in Canada. Via.

I’ll be at the Sun Eco Summit next Wednesday. Will there be anyone else from the Bay Area at this event? Andre Angelantoni will speak on Peak Oil and how businesses can prepare for a world of declining resources. Justine Burt and Adam Werbach will speak on sustainability issues. Author Andrew Winston will talk about how to use environmental thinking to drive growth. Sun’s VP of Eco Responsibility, Dave Douglas, will talk about Sun’s strategy and execution of environmental initiatives across the company.

Andrea at Velorution has his opinion on Matt Parris’ incitement to murder cyclists.

Team BMC cyclists are in the Bay Area enjoying our weather and training for the Tour of California.

For local amateurs, the arrival of the pros means roads will be dotted with some of the sport’s fastest.

“I would compare it to getting a chance to go out and hit batting practice with Barry Bonds or getting to line up at a 49ers practice next to Jerry Rice,” said Stanford Cycling Team mountain bike captain Todd Norwood.

“You’re just out minding your own business on a ride and some of the big names of the sport roll by and say hi – or buongiorno,” Norwood said.

Bike bandit nabbed.

Bike messengers help monitor air pollution.

Cellphones used by bicycle couriers are monitoring air pollution in Cambridge, UK, and beaming the data back to a research lab.

Researchers gave local cycle couriers air-pollution sensors and GPS units that connect to their cellphones via Bluetooth. Custom software lets the phone constantly report the current air quality and location to servers back in the lab.

“They cycle around the city as usual and we receive the data over the cellphone network,” says Kanjo. “We can find out what pollutants people are exposed to and where.”

Have a good weekend, all!