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Future Technology: Cars
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 I love to read and keep track of the types of technology that will affect the future. Self-Driving Cars The Department of Defense (DARPA) had this awesome contest, where cars drive themselves. Think of those sci-fi movies like Total Recall with the robot driver. The facts of this race described in the following (text comes entirely from NewScientistTech): A sports utility vehicle with a mind of its own was declared the winner of DARPA's urban robot car race on Sunday. It travelled autonomously through traffic for six hours and 60 miles (100 kilometres) around a ghost town in California, US, to scoop the prize.See for yourself: brightcove clip. Future Car Contest Another contest is for a car that would be light years ahead of what's on the road today. This snippet from EV World explains what it is: The Automotive X Prize is a multi-million dollar international competition to develop a manufacturable passenger vehicle with fuel economy equivalent to least 100 mpg (2.3 liters/100 km).Not as exciting as the self-driving automobile, but still interesting none-the-less. I like the concept of a plug-in car or something easier to charge at home that has a driving range of 100 miles. I would never need to stop by the gas station again. Labels: automotive x prize, cars, darpa, department of defense, plug-in hybrid, technology posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment Things I learned watching the Democrat and Replubican Primaries / Caucauses Thursday, February 14, 2008 Democrat and Republican Nomination Contests It has been a fascinating race. I especially enjoy watching political pundits, people who clearly think they are sages, get nearly every state primary or caucus wrong. They enjoy writing off candidates without funds. They assume candidates with big war chests will win. They make assumptions about the voting preferences of ethnic, racial, religious groups and genders as though it's locked in stone. Reality check: people are unpredictable. The polls only predict what the people who picked up the phone, felt like voting for on that day. I've done polling in the past: there are a ton of people who do not want to speak and never pick up the phone. I'm one of them. Campaign Appeal and Voters Response What voters do respond to are the candidates that appear to speak to them directly. I'm reminded of my small, yet growing town, deciding to go from a committee form of government to having a mayor. One candidate went door to door asking for votes. He even showed up at my door. We had a pleasant conversation. The other candidate wrote letters. He may have gone door to door as well, although I never saw him. I was struck by how civil the campaign was. Each spoke about what they did for a living, where they lived, their families, and their goals. Is there a politician alive that doesn't promise lower taxes, less commercial and housing development? America is Different Watching the current race for nomination of their political party I'm struck by what we, as Americans, take for granted. A stable government. No violence at the ballot. Civility. Free speech and the ability to vote. I'm not saying it's executed perfectly, but it works. posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment Personal Inventory: Less is More Saturday, February 2, 2008 At least once a year I take stock of the stuff in my house. I make the following decisions about these items:
I was walking back to my house one evening, which is a short distance from the mailbox, when a neighbor said to me, "Wow, so much room in your garage. You can still park your car in it." I said, "Yes, that's true. I don't like clutter." Most of my neighbors keep their cars in the driveway and on the streets, because they have so much stuff in their garages: tennis rackets, golf clubs, weight lifting equipment, refrigerators, lawn mowers, snow blowers, and everything-else-you-can-think-of. When the door goes up on their garages, I look at their accumulated items and ask myself, "Why?" I always feel, if I'm not using it, I can definitely lose it. It isn't moral superiority to state that clutter makes me feel suffocated. I honestly feel I can't breathe in a crowded environment. There are rooms in my house that aren't fully furnished. It's a matter of personal taste. I don't need more things. I like having less of them. Less is more. A half-empty house is a glorious treasure. Labels: house, personal inventory posted by GoldenAh
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