Is this forum bad luck or something?
For two-and-a-half years, where I've lived, I hadn't seen a snake by the house (I hadn't seen a snake anyplace I've lived, either), yet, after coming across a post, here, where someone mentioned they saw a snake while cycling, I saw a small, garden snake (I guess) by the hose, next to the house.
And, now, after reading this thread, where cyclists who lock their bikes to sign posts were criticized, a security guard decided to admonish me (for the first time in my life) for locking my bike to a sign post near the front entrance of the county library, which is attached, inside, along with a large school, saying, "It's not for that; it doesn't belong there."
Literally, 99.99% of businesses and restaurants in the city suburb don't have a bike rack at all (they're only installed at schools and libraries). So, I have the luck of getting scolded at the only place that has a bike rack for a 15 mile radius.
The bike rack seemed to, basically, be installed in a place that caters more to the school and library staff entrance (it's on the side of the building, around 1/3 of a mile away from the main entrance, and I'm not allowed to enter through those doors, as I'm not a part of the school, nor the library staff; library staff, apparently, have a key to enter their door).
The security guards are only there to watch over and protect the school, not watch over my bike, in case it gets stolen. (They don't even notice that drivers without electric vehicles park in the parking lot in spaces that are meant for electric vehicles to charge their batteries. Since not many people cycle in the suburbs, in the first place, and cycling isn't as popular, as it is in larger, metropolitan cities, not many people are aware that bikes can/are stolen; so, no one would be looking out for my bike or notice if someone was trying to steal my bike).
So, that's one reason why I wanted it near the front entrance: so that I can watch over it through the library windows, in case anyone decided to try to mess with it or steal it, and to get back to it, quickly.