My personal glimpse into the first half of the 21st Century for some yet to be known future
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Free Right Turn rule in California
One of the biggest questions in California is about something called free right turn. Many larger intersections have right turn lanes that are separated (channelized) from the intersection by a traffic island. These lanes rarely have signals or signs directly associated with cars in the lane. The confusion comes from how to use the lane when there is a red light in that direction. In most cases, a right turn is allowed on a red light only after a full and complete stop. However, when there is a separated lane, the car may treat it as a yield. In other words, it's OK to precede on a right turn as a yield on a red light (if safe) for separated right turn lanes.
Here's the funny part. There is no law on the books in California that actually make this declaration, as far as I know. The free right turn rules seems to come out of the same absence of law regarding the requirement for a stop on red for those lanes. It's important to note that this rule only applies if the traffic signal is after the segregation of the right turn lane (which does make sense).
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Alaskan Cruise Day 3
After a lengthy ride on a bus (with a driver that was more than happy to tell her personal story of how she and her husband ended up in Alaska), our tour group arrived at a small dock in Auke Bay. The tour boat had a heated cabin. We took off from dock and headed out of the bay.
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At first, there were no whales in sight. As we headed north, we began to see spouts of water off in the far distance. The crew finally got us near some humpbacks. Over the next couple of hours, the boat went from one area to another trying to give us a glimpse of the whales. As the day progressed, we had better sightings.
Near the end of the tour, we watched excitedly as a whale lunged out of the water to fill its mouth full of fish. That was an impressive sight!
As we headed back to dock, I asked Allie's mom how many whales she spotted. She excitedly held up her hand showing all her fingers and said, "FIVE!" with as big of a smile as I've ever seen gleam. Everyone had a lot of fun on this excursion.
Navigation: See all Alaskan Cruise articles here
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Nice to have authentic burrito
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Tuesday Two: Loonie fingers
Tuesday Two
NASA and Goodyear teamed up to develop a "spring tire" that can bare 800 lbs without air. It is designed for Lunar and Martian exploration. The tire is more energy efficient and won't blow-out (which sucks on Earth, but would really suck on the Moon.)
CEMS Systems now has a portable fingerprint reader, useful for roaming and ad-hoc security checks, such as construction sites or bus boarding.
Epoch-Fail
Remember those obnoxious jerks that used to walk around city streets supporting a loud boom-box on their shoulder? Well, there back! Here's an invention that tells the world that you just don't care about other people around you. It's the Stereo Neckphones!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday Two: Shingles Thermometer
Tuesday Two
Dow will soon make a roof shingle that generates solar power. It's called DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle. Home and business owners will soon have more options to help power their homes, businesses and occasional gazebo. Viva Sol!
CorTemp Ingestible Core Body Thermometer Pill isn't just a mouthful of words, it's actually a thermometer that you swallow! Once the pill is ingested, a quartz crystal sensor vibrates at a frequency that is relative to the body's temperature. This creates a low-level signal that can be detected outside of the body.
Monday, August 30, 2010
SolidWorks Blogger and Press Event 2010
August 30, 2010 with Richard Hall, Jeff Mirisola, Matthew West, Jason Raak and Ricky Jordan visited SolidWorks HQ and Concord, Massachusetts. (Original post/backup link)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Failed predictions by Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne makes a lot of predictions. Every once in awhile, she claims this or that successful prediction. In her book The Other Side and Back, Browne even boosts,
I could fill a separate book with my predictions that have come true...
She doesn't talk about her unsuccessful predictions very often, from what I've seen. I imagine she has many, indeed. I'm not going to get all high and mighty about failed predictions. I'm just going to list a few.
In the book mentioned above, Sylvia has a list of predictions for the year 2000 that did not end up happening or that where so basic that they really don't count (whether right or wrong).
- Three major hurricanes, with hits in Florida and Carolinas (among other regions). Fail. According to USA Today, "no hurricanes hit the USA" in 2000.
- Notable earthquake hits Niagara Falls in 2000. Fail. The last notable quake in that area occurred in 1897.
- Bill Bradley won the presidential election and there was "close competition from the Reform Party". Fail and Fail. Though that election may have been stolen with the wrong outcome, Bradley and the Reform Party were no where in sight.
- David Letterman quits his nightly show at the end of 2000. Fail. Even after the scandals of 2009, he's still running strong.
- Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston marry. Success! But is this really a prediction or something that was rather obvious? She also predicted they wouldn't last long. They didn't last, but they did last longer than many Hollywood marriages.
- In 2000, there would be a new flu strain that would start in the Eastern U.S. Asian immigrants coming into the U.S. would "help quell this flu virus". Fail. Although a new flu strain popped up in 2005 called Avian Flu, and that was actually blamed on an Asian source. So, I count this as a double and triple fail.
- In the year 2010, aliens will be seen on Earth and act as observers. She also predictions they will teach humans about the anti-gravity technology. I'll make a counter prediction. No aliens. No anti-gravity devices.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
gol10dr's butt learns to tweet
@gol10dr: .
@gol10dr: Vkp
@gol10dr: V vn
@gol10dr: Oops! Sorry my phone was in my pocket, tweeting all by itself! Butt tweeting?
RT @fcsuper: RT @gol10dr: Oops! Sorry my phone was in my pocket, tweeting all by itself! Butt tweeting?
RT @gupta9665: RT @gol10dr: Oops! Sorry my phone was in my pocket, tweeting all by itself! Butt tweeting? hahahaha. so you both share same id on Twitter ;)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Astronaut declares government is hiding evidence of aliens
He bases this conclusion because he grew up in Roswell, NM and have had individuals come forward to him that admitted to see some of what was going on with the infamous Roswell crash. When even insiders are coming forward, it is hard to ignore the questions regarding aliens.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday Two
Exatec, LLC has developed a glazed polycarbonate material as a lightweight alternative to glass which promises to revolutionize automotive roofs and other exteriors. The material is known as Lexan GLX PC resin.
AED's have saved many lives since 1985. There is a myth that the FDA would not approve AED's because the device had to be used on an unconscious patience, which violated a rule that required patience consent. Fortunately, this is nonsense. An AED was actually approved for home use by the FDA in 2004.
Epoch-Fail
The M80 Stilletto is a high speed ship designed for special ops. It has reached over 50 knots during early tests. It represents possible leading technology in future wars. It is also under consideration by the U.S. armed services. Sounds impressive. The problem? It's being advertized. The fact that the makers of the M80 Stilletto are promoting it as a product in a public venue shows that it might not be a military game changer. If this was a serious option for the military, I'm doubtful most of us would have known about it for at least a decade.Sunday, August 01, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Alaskan Cruise Day 1 and 2
The cabins where about as I expected. A bit smaller than I'm used to. There was enough room for two of us in each cabin without tripping over each other too often. The restroom was the most cramped. I'm not a big person (not even close), and I even had a little trouble getting comfortable on the toilet. The bed was comfortable and spacious. The curtains were very thick. When closed, they would literally make the cabin fill like night, even in the middle of the day.
Although I felt the ship was very large, it didn't seem to have some of the amenities that one comes to expect from an offering of this sort. The shops were in one small section of the ship. There was a couple of gift shops and a jewelry shop and that's about it. The lounge area at the center of the ship seemed spacious at first. However, after seeing how quickly it got cluttered with various events, it also seemed a bit undersized.
Once the ship left Seattle, we spent the rest of that day and all of the following Monday at sea (called a "Sea Day"). The four of us spent most of this Sea Day getting acquainted with the ship. Our cabin had a nice balcony. I found it to be very relaxing to just lounge on the balcony, watching the ocean fly past me. I was able to spot dolphins once or twice. During lunch at the buffet restaurant, we spotted some whales too.
The food was so-so. There was a good selection at the buffet, but the quality did not live up to expectations. Monday evening, we dined at a restaurant at the rear of the ship. Our table was right at the stern. Before the sun set, I was fascinated by the water being churned up in the wake as the ship moved forward. The restaurant was decorated in a Russian-style. The food was good. Unfortunately, this would be best food we would encounter on the ship over the next week.
Navigation: See all Alaskan Cruise articles here