You ever find yourself driving down a highway in the middle of the night (let’s say 4am) and you can’t remember when you last saw another car on the road and you hit a red light at some middle of nowhere crossroads... This wouldn’t be a problem if there was actually a car waiting to use the intersection. Even a pedestrian would be acceptable. Hell, some wildlife waiting to cross the road. But no. There’s nothing in sight. It just went red for (apparently) no other reason than to slow you down, waste your time and gas. And this has nothing to do with bad luck or poor timing, it was programmed to do this.
Municipalities love this shit. It slows down speeders and drunks and makes the communities safer. Yeah that’s great but it also pisses off the 99.9..% of the other drivers on the road who have to stop at these ridiculous and pointless red lights at such a crazy hour.
If they insist on having these traffic controls why not go with a flashing red light. Sure you’ll have to stop but at least you don’t have to sit and wait – sometimes up to 30 seconds – for the freaking green light in the middle of the night.
And if you’re going to treat these as a 4 way stop and shuffle through the red light make sure you’re not lined up in the sights of a red light camera.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
WATCH WHAT YOU POST!
The limitless distribution network of the internet is involved in an odd and tragic story out of California. The accident scene photographs of a young woman killed in a motor vehicle accident on R241 last year found their entry onto the world wide web and gained significant exposure primarily on ‘alternative’ websites.
The California Highway Patrol has admitted that one of its employees was responsible for the leak. The CHP and the victims family have requested that all websites who have posted these images take them offline. I can’t see that going well.
I have seen these photographs in question and like all police film from such trauma they leave nothing to the imagination and I don’t blame the parents of the victim for seeking some form of compensation.
But 20 million bucks?
That’s the number the family’s lawyer is kicking around. The pending lawsuit cites emotional distress, loss of earnings, loss of consortium and seeks punitive damages.
The woman who was killed was driving her fathers Porsche and crashed into toll booths around 100mph.
The California Highway Patrol has admitted that one of its employees was responsible for the leak. The CHP and the victims family have requested that all websites who have posted these images take them offline. I can’t see that going well.
I have seen these photographs in question and like all police film from such trauma they leave nothing to the imagination and I don’t blame the parents of the victim for seeking some form of compensation.
But 20 million bucks?
That’s the number the family’s lawyer is kicking around. The pending lawsuit cites emotional distress, loss of earnings, loss of consortium and seeks punitive damages.
The woman who was killed was driving her fathers Porsche and crashed into toll booths around 100mph.
SELF SERVE CHECKOUT
As you have probably noticed over the past couple of years the self-serve check out is turning up at more and more retailers with grocery stores leading the way with this brave new technology.
Personally I am not the biggest fan and from what I have seen in passing observations many consumers are also slow to adopt this non-human alternative to paying for stuff.
And what really pisses me off is that some retailers are jamming this technology down their customers throats by cutting back on traditional cashier staff before this electronic method has even remotely gained acceptance. Not mentioning any names (HomeDepot) but I've been part of a line 10 people deep enjoying the stellar efficiency of a single cashier while another employee cheerfully advises customers that the self-serve check out is open. I'd like to cheerfully advise her to get herself behind a cash register.
Yep, clearly not everyone is buying into this new system.
Industry experts will tell you the primary benefit to the consumer is that this method is faster. I agree down the road it may be (it also might be the only payment option) but in the present day while Granny McPhee is figuring out how to weigh her bananas and holding up the rest of the queue the speed argument is debatable.
The efficiency issue aside, I have a problem with doing more work and getting nothing for it. I scan it. I pay for it. I bag it. Did I save any money for my extra effort? I did not but the retailer certainly did. Sure those in the retail industry will tell you that with the savings in labour costs they can offer lower prices. Forgive my skepticism on that point.
One thing is clear we all best get used to this method as it is here to stay in one form or another. Like with any technology that is new and different there will be a learning and acceptance curve. The good news is that the efficiency of this method will improve greatly as people get used to it. But I'm still not holding my breath for any price reductions for scanning my own stuff.
Personally I am not the biggest fan and from what I have seen in passing observations many consumers are also slow to adopt this non-human alternative to paying for stuff.
And what really pisses me off is that some retailers are jamming this technology down their customers throats by cutting back on traditional cashier staff before this electronic method has even remotely gained acceptance. Not mentioning any names (HomeDepot) but I've been part of a line 10 people deep enjoying the stellar efficiency of a single cashier while another employee cheerfully advises customers that the self-serve check out is open. I'd like to cheerfully advise her to get herself behind a cash register.
Yep, clearly not everyone is buying into this new system.
Industry experts will tell you the primary benefit to the consumer is that this method is faster. I agree down the road it may be (it also might be the only payment option) but in the present day while Granny McPhee is figuring out how to weigh her bananas and holding up the rest of the queue the speed argument is debatable.
The efficiency issue aside, I have a problem with doing more work and getting nothing for it. I scan it. I pay for it. I bag it. Did I save any money for my extra effort? I did not but the retailer certainly did. Sure those in the retail industry will tell you that with the savings in labour costs they can offer lower prices. Forgive my skepticism on that point.
One thing is clear we all best get used to this method as it is here to stay in one form or another. Like with any technology that is new and different there will be a learning and acceptance curve. The good news is that the efficiency of this method will improve greatly as people get used to it. But I'm still not holding my breath for any price reductions for scanning my own stuff.
BUILDING ODDITY
This has to be one of the weirder things in the world today.
There is an abandoned shell of a high rise in North Korea that due to financial and other considerations has remained unfinished and will likely remain that way for quite some time – likely until it is demolished. And it has been in its current unfinished state for 15 years since construction stopped in 1992.
What is so special about the discarded Ryugyong Hotel development is the sheer size of the tower. When construction was halted the building had reached its designed height of 1,083 feet spread over 105 stories. That would make it the 5th tallest building in North America today. (if it actually was in north america)
The hulking shell lurks over the capital city of Pyongyang and with its odd angles and pyramid shape it is a bit of a haunting monstrosity. I'm sure Batman would feel right at home.
There is an abandoned shell of a high rise in North Korea that due to financial and other considerations has remained unfinished and will likely remain that way for quite some time – likely until it is demolished. And it has been in its current unfinished state for 15 years since construction stopped in 1992.
What is so special about the discarded Ryugyong Hotel development is the sheer size of the tower. When construction was halted the building had reached its designed height of 1,083 feet spread over 105 stories. That would make it the 5th tallest building in North America today. (if it actually was in north america)
The hulking shell lurks over the capital city of Pyongyang and with its odd angles and pyramid shape it is a bit of a haunting monstrosity. I'm sure Batman would feel right at home.
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