(Bits&Pieces.us)
Thursday, October 26, 2017
These Are Legit Concerns
13 reasons why we're not ready for our motoring future
2. The world's unpredictable
Maarten Sierhuis, director of the Nissan Research Centre, said: 'Reasoning and learning is not simple. From the raw data, we need to perceive the world and understand the obstacles. It's hard [for a machine] to distinguish a human standing still from a lamppost. Then the system needs to predict what the object will do next and what every other object will do.'
Real-world driving involves quick decision making that would require some extremely sophisticated programming. For instance, going through a red light because you've been waved through by a roadworker or a policeman. 'When you drive, how many times do you break the law in traffic? More often than you think.'
Drawing on his experience working with NASA, he believes that you need to keep humans in the loop, supervised by something like air traffic control.
3. Tech can't stop it raining
When it comes to self-driving, there's no hiding place. Either it works or it doesn't. And sensors don't always work. If your car has a reversing camera, you'll know how its performance is reduced by rain or dirt. And poor weather is no friend of digital radio reception. Daimler's Wilko Stark admits: 'Autonomous cars are highly weather dependent. In snow, it doesn't really work.'
10. It's all hugely expensive
For existing car manufacturers, there's going to be a period when they're simultaneously refining their current line-ups of petrol and diesel cars and developing hybrids and full electric cars.
Some visions of the future would also require a lot of road resurfacing, and the installation of charging points at workplaces, in shopping centre car parks, at filling stations and for domestic use. Expect more toll roads and congestion charges. And in-car advertising will be HUGE once cars can drive themselves.
12. We keep buying stuff
Amazon and other online retailers have increased the number of van journeys: in 2016, up by 3.8% to 78.2 billion miles in the UK. The other great users of white vans – plumbers, plasterers, electricians – are also thriving. In both cases, they need to get to your front door, without delay.
The future isn't just about commuting, shopping and leisure use.
13. Car sharing is easier said than done
The case for car sharing is compelling: most cars stand idle most of the time. But implementing it is far from simple. There are two routes: pairing drivers with passengers – a modern form of hitchhiking – and pairing unused cars with carless drivers.
Complete list (CarMagazine.co.uk)
2. The world's unpredictable
Maarten Sierhuis, director of the Nissan Research Centre, said: 'Reasoning and learning is not simple. From the raw data, we need to perceive the world and understand the obstacles. It's hard [for a machine] to distinguish a human standing still from a lamppost. Then the system needs to predict what the object will do next and what every other object will do.'
Real-world driving involves quick decision making that would require some extremely sophisticated programming. For instance, going through a red light because you've been waved through by a roadworker or a policeman. 'When you drive, how many times do you break the law in traffic? More often than you think.'
Drawing on his experience working with NASA, he believes that you need to keep humans in the loop, supervised by something like air traffic control.
3. Tech can't stop it raining
When it comes to self-driving, there's no hiding place. Either it works or it doesn't. And sensors don't always work. If your car has a reversing camera, you'll know how its performance is reduced by rain or dirt. And poor weather is no friend of digital radio reception. Daimler's Wilko Stark admits: 'Autonomous cars are highly weather dependent. In snow, it doesn't really work.'
10. It's all hugely expensive
For existing car manufacturers, there's going to be a period when they're simultaneously refining their current line-ups of petrol and diesel cars and developing hybrids and full electric cars.
Some visions of the future would also require a lot of road resurfacing, and the installation of charging points at workplaces, in shopping centre car parks, at filling stations and for domestic use. Expect more toll roads and congestion charges. And in-car advertising will be HUGE once cars can drive themselves.
12. We keep buying stuff
Amazon and other online retailers have increased the number of van journeys: in 2016, up by 3.8% to 78.2 billion miles in the UK. The other great users of white vans – plumbers, plasterers, electricians – are also thriving. In both cases, they need to get to your front door, without delay.
The future isn't just about commuting, shopping and leisure use.
13. Car sharing is easier said than done
The case for car sharing is compelling: most cars stand idle most of the time. But implementing it is far from simple. There are two routes: pairing drivers with passengers – a modern form of hitchhiking – and pairing unused cars with carless drivers.
Complete list (CarMagazine.co.uk)
I Disagree With #1 On This List
The 20 Best TV Spin-off Series of All Time, Ranked
The best of TV's follow-up shows, from "Angel" to "Xena."
It’s been 30 years since Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie first
appeared as interstitials on “The Tracey Ullman Show.” The origins story
of “The Simpsons” is now the stuff of legend: “Tracey Ullman” executive
producer James L. Brooks recruited Matt Groening to turn his “Life in
Hell” comic strip into interstitials; instead, Groening came up with the
Simpsons family, based on his own family (and named after most of
them). After three seasons on “Tracey Ullman,” a series was attempted —
starting with an animated Christmas special in 1989.
Now entering Season 29, the show is close to surpassing “Gunsmoke” (which ended its run with 635 episodes) as the primetime scripted show with the most episodes in history. “I can’t believe how many people who work on the show have been working on the show for as long as they have,” creator Matt Groening said this summer at San Diego Comic-Con. “It’s gratifying to be able to continue to tell stories and come up with new jokes — and repeat some old ones.”
Complete list (IndieWire.com)
The best of TV's follow-up shows, from "Angel" to "Xena."
2. “The Simpsons”
- “The Simpsons”
- Fox
Now entering Season 29, the show is close to surpassing “Gunsmoke” (which ended its run with 635 episodes) as the primetime scripted show with the most episodes in history. “I can’t believe how many people who work on the show have been working on the show for as long as they have,” creator Matt Groening said this summer at San Diego Comic-Con. “It’s gratifying to be able to continue to tell stories and come up with new jokes — and repeat some old ones.”
14. “A Different World”
- “A Different World”
- NBC TV/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
19. “The Facts of Life”
- “The Facts of Life”
- NBC-TV/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Complete list (IndieWire.com)
Higher Education, The OG Ponzi Scheme
How School Trains Us To Fail In The Real World
Instead of learning critical life skills on how to manage money, how to negotiate, or how to communicate, kids are mostly taught to memorize information.
School is an unsuitable learning environment for many jobs
For those that say school is not the place to impart wisdom to youngsters, but to prepare them for the workplace, I hear ya, but sorry. You just walked into a nasty trap with that point of view. If school is to prepare us for a career, then why is it that it’s absolutely horrible at accomplishing that?
College claims to be the safe, sure way for a great career (it’s not)
Some may think that employers love to train employees their way, but I think the truth is more often a “plug and play” preference. Would you rather hire someone who has proven they can do the job well, or someone who has a piece of paper that says they “might be a good employee, after training of course?” It hurts to be rejected on the basis of limited experience, but it’s an employer’s market out there, and businesses tend to play it safe when they can.
(Medium.com)
Instead of learning critical life skills on how to manage money, how to negotiate, or how to communicate, kids are mostly taught to memorize information.
School is an unsuitable learning environment for many jobs
For those that say school is not the place to impart wisdom to youngsters, but to prepare them for the workplace, I hear ya, but sorry. You just walked into a nasty trap with that point of view. If school is to prepare us for a career, then why is it that it’s absolutely horrible at accomplishing that?
College claims to be the safe, sure way for a great career (it’s not)
Some may think that employers love to train employees their way, but I think the truth is more often a “plug and play” preference. Would you rather hire someone who has proven they can do the job well, or someone who has a piece of paper that says they “might be a good employee, after training of course?” It hurts to be rejected on the basis of limited experience, but it’s an employer’s market out there, and businesses tend to play it safe when they can.
(Medium.com)
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
A Rare Chance To Own A Unicorn From Pontiac
A 1979 Pontiac Trans Am With 65 Miles On It Could Be Yours For $159,900
Nearly four decades ago, 18-year-old William Leland Jr., a distant relative of Henry Leland, the founder of Lincoln and Cadillac, bought a highly well-equipped 1979 Pontiac Trans Am for $10,095. The Trans Am wasn’t to be driven or even washed, Leland ordered. When Leland died at the age of 42, his father took over ownership, and preserved the car according to his son’s wishes as a shrine.
Now, after being passed on to a third owner, the
car is on sale, having been preserved in pristine condition 39 years
after it emerged from GM’s manufacturing facility in Norwood, Ohio.
The car, according to RK Motors, has “never been washed, never been rained on, and [benefitted] from yearly fluid changes that included fresh oil and distilled water.”
It was also fired up once a month, and worked through its gears. It’s hard to imagine a 1979 Trans Am in any better shape.
(Jalopnik.com)
Nearly four decades ago, 18-year-old William Leland Jr., a distant relative of Henry Leland, the founder of Lincoln and Cadillac, bought a highly well-equipped 1979 Pontiac Trans Am for $10,095. The Trans Am wasn’t to be driven or even washed, Leland ordered. When Leland died at the age of 42, his father took over ownership, and preserved the car according to his son’s wishes as a shrine.
The car, according to RK Motors, has “never been washed, never been rained on, and [benefitted] from yearly fluid changes that included fresh oil and distilled water.”
It was also fired up once a month, and worked through its gears. It’s hard to imagine a 1979 Trans Am in any better shape.
(Jalopnik.com)
Not Really, Because Someone Just Had To Have It
Paying $10,000 For A Bugatti Chiron Model Engine Seems Rather Silly
Life is full of silly things, a lot of which would be cool if they weren’t so silly. Take this model of a Bugatti Chiron engine: It’d be a great conversation piece on your LED-backlit display wall of rare, expensive automotive memorabilia dusted with diamonds for extra shine, but maybe not for $10,000.
Then again, if a display wall dusted with
diamonds is your kind of thing, maybe a starting price of $9,365 for
this model isn’t a big deal.
Personal feelings about the worth of material objects serving no purpose other than to look at aside, this 1:4 scale of a Bugatti Chiron engine and gearbox is pretty mesmerizing. The company that makes it and other expensive vehicle replicas, Amalgam Collection, said there are 1,040 individual parts and all of the special finishes Bugatti puts on the actual car’s 1,500-horsepower W16 engine packed into a model that’s only 18 inches long and 9 inches high.
(Jalopnik.com)
Life is full of silly things, a lot of which would be cool if they weren’t so silly. Take this model of a Bugatti Chiron engine: It’d be a great conversation piece on your LED-backlit display wall of rare, expensive automotive memorabilia dusted with diamonds for extra shine, but maybe not for $10,000.
Personal feelings about the worth of material objects serving no purpose other than to look at aside, this 1:4 scale of a Bugatti Chiron engine and gearbox is pretty mesmerizing. The company that makes it and other expensive vehicle replicas, Amalgam Collection, said there are 1,040 individual parts and all of the special finishes Bugatti puts on the actual car’s 1,500-horsepower W16 engine packed into a model that’s only 18 inches long and 9 inches high.
(Jalopnik.com)
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