Category Archives: General

General

It was (sadly) bound to happen…

The first automobile driver fatality while using the autonomous feature on a car, a Tesla, has happened…

Driver Killed While Using Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature

I don’t mean to sound cold, especially with regard to the individual who lost their life in this accident, but the statistics regarding car accidents and deaths are these:  In an average year there are 30,000+ fatalities in auto accidents and another 2.2 million injured.

The fact that we’re several years into “self-driving” vehicle experimentation (I use this term because though the Tesla cars can engage in autonomous driving, there are clear warnings to do so only as an aid and to keep one’s hands on the wheel and attention on the road), this is the very first fatality to occur while a car was in a self-driving mode.

Here’s the description of the accident, as reported in the article linked to above:

“What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S,” Tesla wrote. “Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.”

Again, its tragic that anyone should lose their life in a car accident, regardless of the why or how.  Based on the description above, it would appear this accident might have occurred even if the driver was at the wheel and the self-driving mechanism was not engaged.

I suspect “real world” cases like this, tragic though they are, will only lead to improvements in the self-driving systems.

General

FiveThirtyEight’s first general election prediction…

If you’re a political junkie, the work of Nate Silver over at fivethirtyeight.com is a fascinating snapshot into the various polls and the possibility of Candidate X winning over Candidate Y, whoever said Candidate is.

Yesterday Mr. Silver offered the first prediction of the upcoming general election.  You may have heard about it…its for the office of the President of the United States and pits Hillary Clinton (D) versus Donald Trump (R).

With this first prediction, granted its 130 plus days away from the actual voting, things aren’t looking good for Mr. Trump.  Or, to use his vernacular, “Sad”:

2016 Election Forecast at FiveThirtyEight

At the risk of spoiling things (if you’re into statistics, this site will be your nirvana), as it stood yesterday Hillary Clinton has a whopping 80.3% chance of winning the Presidency versus Mr. Trump’s 19.7% chance.

Now, much can change as we have a veeerrrrrryyyyy long way to go still.  Having said that, I really hope these stats hold up.  I can’t get my head around Mr. Trump being president and I at times wonder if he’s doing this as a lark knowing full well he’ll never win.  For all I know, he may well be pranking the entire Republican party…

Still, to be that close to the Presidency is a scary thought.

Gary Legum at Salon.com offers some thoughts regarding Mr. Silver’s recent post and the reality (as of this moment) of Mr. Trump’s position:

The math is with Hillary: She’s surging in the polls and Republicans are in denial

Again, its foolish to take one result this far ahead of the actual election date and assume it’ll be the same then, but for those (like me) anxious about the possibility of a Trump presidency, these links provide some relief.

General

1939-1940 Pontiac “Ghost Car”

Sometimes you stumble around the web, in this case Reddit, while seeking diversion from the angry clamor of news (cough*Brexit*cough) and discover something that makes your jaw drop.

In this case, I present you the 1939-40 Pontiac “Ghost Car”:

The story behind this “see-through” car?  It was made for the 1939-40 New York World’s fair and there are a bunch more pictures of this fascinating vehicle (which apparently still exists and is operational!) which can be found here:

http://imgur.com/a/QOn75

I can’t help myself: A few more pictures found on the link above:

Here’s a newspaper clip from the 1939 World’s Fair:

Check out the rest as the link above.  Fascinating stuff!

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, General

To all artists out there…

Found this fascinating article by Brian Ashcraft over at Kotaku concerning a manga artist who has developed a great work desk:

One Manga Artist’s Quest For The Best Work Desk

When one works for many hours at a desk, even if you aren’t necessarily a manga artist, getting “comfortable” should be a paramount issue.

I’m intrigued by the efforts of Yoshikadu Hamada in figuring out his work station.

I just wish I was more “hands on” to create such a station!

Books/Literature, General

Promoting…

It should come as no big surprise that well-known/popular celebrities can make a decent living promoting products.  Athletes, in particular, have often made more than their base salaries (nothing to sneeze at in the first place) by promoting drinks or foods or sneakers.  Likewise, actors have appeared in print and video commercials as well, sometimes at the start of their careers but also when their career is in full bloom or even past it.

Of all the “celebrities” out there who have joined the ranks of promoters of products, one of the more curious fields is that of the science fiction author.

While today most couldn’t pick out a science fiction author beyond their photograph in their latest novel, there was a time not so very long ago and when I was a much younger man when several big name sci-fi authors were well known enough by the public to be considered “celebrities”.  Arthur C. Clark.  Isaac Asimov.  Ray Bradbury.  Harlan Ellison.  All but the last author mentioned is gone now, sadly, but I recall a time when they were quite well known.

Because of this, it isn’t too surprising that product makers wound up seeking these celebrity authors and using them to as promotion tools.  Andrew Liptak at Gizmodo has done a fine job presenting an article which assembles copious Youtube links as well as promotional one sheets of these famous authors and it can be found here:

All the times Science Fiction Authors have shilled random products

My favorite has to be this one, though the idea of Ray Bradbury promoting Sunsweet Prunes is really bizarre.  Anyway, here’s Mr. Isaac Asimov promoting the mighty TRS-80 computer:

I remember the machine.  Thank goodness Radio Shack made sure it featured “color”!

Mr. Liptak amusingly notes that while Mr. Asimov touted the various computers and devices available from Radio Shack, he himself was known to write exclusively on a typewriter and therefore most likely didn’t care for the products he was touting.

Visiting the article was an interesting step into a (until now) forgotten part of my past and an amusing little time killer.  If you know these authors and weren’t aware of their promotional work, check the article out.  Its fun!

General

Fascinating stuff…

Now and again I stumble upon an article that changes my world-view.  It could involve something relatively small…it could involve something relatively large in our daily lives.

In this case, it relates to the later.  The link below is to an article by Vinicius Donisete Goulart and can be found on Slate.  The subject is…

Is being color-blind actually an advantage?

The gist of the article is this: In South and Central America a very large number of the monkeys that live in the forests have apparently evolved to be color-blind.  While on the surface this little factoid may seem nothing more than a curious little bit of trivia, one has to step back and consider the implications of this fact.  Or, to put it another way:

Evolution.

At its most basic level, the theory of evolution posits that animals who adapt to their environment are the ones most likely to succeed in it.  Therefore, the fact that these monkeys are color blind posses this question: If over many years and while evolving the monkeys who developed color blindness were the ones who best adapted (and survived) their environment, then is it possible that color blindness is an advantage?

The author notes that seeing the varieties of color around us may put us in a disadvantage: Things can be camouflaged within the vibrant colors around us (many predator species have skin that do this effectively).  In the case of color blind animals, they don’t have to deal with all the “noise” from colors around them and instead can focus on patterns and therefore may find it easier to see -and therefore avoid- a predator hidden in the bush.

Further, it is possible being color-blind allows certain animals an advantage in finding their food!

Even more fascinating is the fact that advantages to being color blind may apply to humans as well.  This paragraph, found within the article itself, provides some interesting examples:

Color blind people don’t have this same overload and are often able to see through the deliberate “noise” of colored camouflage to spot the deeper patterns. During World War II, color blind men were employed to break through camouflaged enemy positions and thereby spot possible targets for bombing. A certain color blindness may also help create patterns as well as spot them: Vincent Van Gogh was able to create amazingly complex colorful patterns yet his palette shows a striking resemblance to defective color vision.

As I said, fascinating, fascinating stuff.

General

Self-driving future…

Once again (and with your kind patience, dear reader), I delve into one of my favorite pet-topics: Self-driving vehicles.

In this case, the fascinating story of Olli as found in this article written by Rob Lever and found on phys.org:

Olli, A 3D Printed, Self-Driving Mini-Bus to Hit the Road in the U.S.

For those too lazy to click the link and read the article (you really should, you know), I found this video regarding the vehicle on youtube:

As I’ve said before: I envision a future where people no longer own cars and all -or most- of the vehicles on the road will be like this one: You call in a vehicle using your smartphone, it picks you up and takes you to your destination, then is off to deal with the next, nearest client.

When you’re ready to be driven back home, you summon a vehicle and off you go.

The addition of 3D printing is a fascinating new wrinkle to the whole thing.  You can create, as mentioned in the video, fast modifications to the design so that the vehicle will work best in whatever environment it is intended for.

General

Gas stations, R.I.P.?

With the rise of the electric car and, hopefully soon enough, the self-driving vehicle, it appears to me the days of the gas station are numbered.

I’m not the only one who thinks that way.  Here’s an article by Daniel Gross and found on Slate magazine:

Why America’s gas stations are running out of time

Mr. Gross offers statistics showing there has been a noticeable decline in number of gas stations in the United states and enumerates reasons why this may be a permanent trend.

The rise of electric cars, of course, is but one of the bigger reasons.  With each sale Tesla or GM or BMW etc. have with their electric vehicles, it means there is one less vehicle on the road that requires stopping at a gas station to refuel.

But Gas Stations, IMHO, have even more to fear from the self-driving cars.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When the day comes -and it will come- when self-driving cars are fully allowed on the roads of America, there will be a HUGE shift in our transportation perspective.

I believe at that time there will be a company -perhaps more than one- that offer rides by their army of self-driving vehicles.  You will pull out your smartphone, order a car, and it will come pick you up and take you to your destination.  From there, the self-driving vehicle will find its next passenger and so on through the day.

When the vehicle is low on fuel -whether it be an electric charge or gasoline- the vehicle will return to its home base where it will be refueled (or have its batteries swapped) and be off again.  There will be no need for this fleet of vehicles to use a gas station.

So, what will become of gas stations?  Will they simply convert into snack shops a la 7-11 and offer foods?  Or will many of them simply fade away and will one day we suddenly find there are no more gas stations at all?

We’ll see.

General

Again and again and again…

The news from Orlando this past weekend was heartbreaking and, as incredibly depressing as the mass murder of 49 patrons of the Pulse club by a man so consumed with hatred of gay people (and a possible link to ISIS), the news could have been even worse…

Police identify L.A. Pride weapons suspect as James Wesley Howell

Mr. Howell is 20 year old Indiana man who was stopped and found to be carrying rifles, ammunition, and explosives and who stated he was going to that gay pride event for reasons unknown…though given what he was carrying one can’t be blamed for assuming the very worst.

Reactions to the event vary of course.  And it didn’t take long for some to blame…Obama?!

Fox News Commentator Blames Orlando Shooting on Obama

Sigh.

It’s like we go from extreme tragedy to high comedy (or just plain lunacy) within a single day and before the victims’ bodies get cold.

I never understood the allure of weapons.  I never understood the need to hoard them and the paranoia bred by “protecting” the right to keep them in all forms, even when the weapon, in this case an AR-15, is nothing more than a killing machine.

Will we ever get a break?  Will common sense regulations ever take hold?

Will people ever get fed up enough to vote those who protect guns more rabidly than they do human beings out of office?

I really hope so.

General

Indiana Jones might want to take a look…

Fascinating (though too short!) article I found on CNN.com and written by Katia Hetter regarding…

“Massive” Monument Found in Ancient Petra

You should read the article but the jist of it is this: Thanks to aerial photography and drones, a very large monument has been found.  This is what it looks like:

An overhead image of the new monument at Petra photographed from a drone, and a detail overlay of the surface features in which the image is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.

Thanks to satellite imagery, drones, and aerial photography, it appears we’re more easily discovering things like this.

Makes one wonder just how much of our human history remains to be uncovered.

Fascinating, fascinating stuff.