INTERESTING: Self-driving car displaces the regional airplane?

Monday, July 17, 2017

https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/16/dear-united-autonomous-cars-will-pull-you-out-of-your-seat/?ncid=rss

CRUNCH NETWORK
Dear United: Autonomous cars will pull you out of your seat
Posted 4 hours ago by Cyrus Radfar (@cyrusradfar)

*** begin quote ***

The Golden Triangle: Faster, Cheaper, and Better

In general, terrestrial short haul may be as fast or slightly slower than airlines, today. Nevertheless, it’s likely to be much more consistent on both price and time to the destination.

It’s hard to believe that the experience wouldn’t be more comfortable door to door and it will, likely, be much more affordable, especially for business group travel.

*** and ***

According to some estimates, the price of cabs sans driver could come down as much as three-quarters. If the journey between LA and SF with one passenger may be twice the cost of the best price and with more passengers, autonomous travel would become the cheaper option.

*** end quote ***

Interesting is the cost savings. ¾ price advantage, no security, and a comfortable ride — sounds like the poor man’s “private jet”.

Where do I sign up?

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: The = sign

Thursday, July 13, 2017

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/how-the-equals-sign-changed-the-world/

SCIENCE HISTORY —
How the equals sign changed the world
500 years ago, tragic Welsh genius Robert Recorde wanted to teach math to ordinary people.
ESTHER INGLIS-ARKELL – 7/9/2017, 9:00 AM

*** begin quote ***

Recorde found it irritating to have to state over and over that one side of an equation was equal to the other side. He wrote, with obvious annoyance and whimsical spelling, “And to avoide the tedious repetition of these woordes, is equalle to, I will sette as I doe often in woorke use, a paire of paralleles.” Instead of using a phrase to convey meaning, he would convey the same meaning with a symbol. What symbol could be more appropriate than a pair of equal-length lines? Nothing, Recorde explained, “noe 2 thyngs, can be moare equalle.”

Recorde’s symbol didn’t catch on at first. The language of Latin still held sway during the 16th century. Latin had a word for the concept, “aequalis,” and if more concision was necessary, people could shorten it to “ae” or “oe.” But aiding the popularity of the equals sign was Recorde’s introduction, to English-speakers, of the German symbols “+” and “-“. In combination, these signs allowed people to express, quickly and with a minimum of wasted ink, a mathematical equation in symbols. Instead of writing, “A factore added to a quantitie of thryeye is equalle to a dyffyrynte factore frome whyche is takene awaye a quantitie of foure,” a mathematician could write: “x + 3 = y – 4”.

*** and ***

Sadly, Recorde wasn’t lauded as a hero of rationality and math education in his lifetime. Brilliant as he was, he forgot one of the basic rules of his day: the aristocracy always wins. 

*** end quote ***

I particularly like the observation that he brought “quantification” to the general population.

Sad that he wound up being “unequal”.

Argh!

Imagine if the human race cherished genius instead of celebrity, status, or “royalty”. 

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: I got pulled over?

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

2017-Jul-11 1055

Interesting morning. 

I was driving the Caddie and pulled out of 7-11 when there was big gap in the traffic. Someone jumped into my gap and I was forced to stay on the shoulder for three or four cars. Finally a cop let me in. I waved thanks and toodled along. 

Two lights later, he lit me up and pulled me over. Argh!

So I sat quietly until he walked up to the car. On his way to the driver’s side window, he touched the driver’s side rear light. That struck me as strange.

“Registration and insurance card”. I responded: “It’s in the glove box.” “Ok, you can get it now and thanks for telling me.” I got them out and the contents of the box rolled out. I took them out of the evelope and passed them to him. 

“License.” “In my wallet”. “OK”. So extracted the wallet and pulled it out and handed it to him.

He said: “I pulled you over because your license came back as suspended. Did you turn your NJ license when you got a NH one?” “yes. The car is based in NJ so it’s registered and insursed here.” “OK.”

He went back to the police car. And spent a few minutes. On the way back, he touched the taillight again. Struck me as strange.

“Do you still have the address in Kendall Park?” “Yes.” “OK. No problem.”

And I went on my way.

I’m still wondering why he touched the car?

# – # – # – # – # 

UPDATE

http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/cops-touch-cars-tail-light-traffic-stops/1/?trkid=NL-RANDOM-072817&_cmp=ReadUpRDUSLiveIntent&_ebid=ReadUpRDUSLiveIntent7282017&_mid=159852&ehid=d0710e71c64f1dc22bdeeadff8aca9e5205e14d8

Confirmation.

# – # – # – # – #  2017-Jul-28 @ 20:34  

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: A ship tunnel

Monday, May 8, 2017

https://www.wired.com/2017/04/norways-bold-maybe-foolhardy-plan-build-worlds-first-ship-tunnel/

AUTHOR: LIZ STINSON.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04.09.17.
TIME OF PUBLICATION: 7:00 AM.
NORWAY’S BOLD, MAYBE FOOLHARDY PLAN TO BUILD THE WORLD’S FIRST SHIP TUNNEL

*** begin quote ***

NORWAY IS HOME to more than 1,100 road tunnels. They cut through the mountains and stretch under its deep sea, allowing vehicles a more direct route through the country’s challenging terrain. The Scandinavian country has burrowed thoroughfares for nearly every mode of transportation—except one.

“We build a lot of tunnels, just not for ships” says Terje Andreassen, head of Kystverket, the Norwegian coastal administration. It’s strange when you think about it. Norway has more than 18,000 miles of coastline, punctuated by rugged cliffs that jut into the sea like outstretched fingers. The country’s fjords fill the long, slender gaps between the cliffs. These narrow inlets are famed for their beauty, but are a pain for shipping vessels. Traversing the country’s coast requires venturing in and out of fjords, which is inefficient; and rough waters on the open ocean occasionally strand boats in an inlet’s relatively placid waters. That’s why, for the last two years, Kystverket and the architecture firm Snohetta have plugged away at a proposal to build the world’s first ship tunnel. The recently approved plan calls for a mile-long passageway through the Stadlandet Peninsula in northwestern Norway, and would afford boats a safe and quick alternative to the tumultuous waters separating two major fjords.

*** end quote ***

Seems so obvious.

And a great engineering feat.

Makes life better, safer, and more predictable for their society.

My only question is: “As a gooferment project, as opposed to one funded and done by an entrepreneur, how much of a boondoggle will this become?”

We’ll just have to wait and see.

— 30 —

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Perdue goes online

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

FROM THE WSJ

Private Turned Public 

Purdue University, a flagship public institution in Indiana, is jumping into online education by buying for-profit Kaplan University with the aim of creating a new, public online university. The highly unusual acquisition will extend Purdue’s reach to more working adults while building an additional revenue stream at a time when state funding is uncertain. Purdue President Mitch Daniels said the school wanted to stay true to its land-grant mission of educating as many people as possible, but he recognized it couldn’t build an online presence alone. The venture highlights the shifting higher-education market as public funding declines, tuitions rise and college students grow older, busier and more indebted. Purdue said it plans to acquire Kaplan University’s 32,000 students, 3,000 employees and 15 bricks-and-mortar campuses and learning centers from Graham Holdings, which will maintain Kaplan’s international, professional and test-prep businesses.

# – # – #

A few years ago, one sage fellow said that in the future there would only be 100 Colleges or Universities in the USA. Everything else would be online or dead.

Sounds like that’s going to be true.

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can

Thursday, March 16, 2017

https://youtu.be/hUhisi2FBuw


The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can

engineerguy 

583,278

 
Add to

 Share 

More
4,241,776 views
 

Published on Apr 14, 2015

Bill details the engineering choices underlying the design of a beverage can He explains why it is cylindrical, outlines the manufacturing steps needed to created the can, notes why the can narrows near it lid, show close ups of the double-seam that hold the lid on, and details the complex operation of the tab that opens the can. 
☛ Links to additional videos:
Rexam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dK1VV…
How It’s Made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Y0zA…
Anim1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU_iS…
Anim2:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcsDx…
Drawing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF4v-…
Redrawing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUAijp…

<>
 

# – # – # – # – #

Absolutely stunning to this fat old white guy injineer.

(I knew a lot of this but never saw it so well explained. 

Reminds me of the great economics text “I, pencil” and the various adaptions of it.

How much we stand on the shoulders of our predecessors and their intellectual discoveries and capital investments.

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Mushrooms to bricks like the Bible’s straw into bricks

Monday, March 6, 2017

https://hackaday.com/2017/03/05/mycelia-sawdust-house/

MYCELIA + SAWDUST = HOUSE?
Michael Uttmark March 5, 2017

*** begin quote ***

Take a guess. What is the featured picture for this article? If you’re channeling your inner Google image recognition, you might say: “Best guess for this image: rock.” But, like Google, you’d be wrong. Instead, what you see are bricks made out of fungi obtained from tissues of mycelia.

By taking fungi obtained from tissues of mycelia and storing them in a jar filled with a growth medium (usually sawdust), MycoWorks is creating all sorts of materials with exciting properties. In just three to seven days, the fungi and sawdust mixture expands and forms into clumps of material, which are then used to create products like handbags, purses, bricks, you name it. According to co-founder Phil Ross, “production of this material is similar to making ravioli from scratch, and the final product is more resilient than concrete.”

*** end quote ***

Wow, just look at the video, it’s extremely impressive. 

A building material that won’t break in an earthquake!

A simply stunning idea.

Like that college professor who reengineered plywood to make it “bullet proof” (actually flying debris proof; think the movie “Twister”), this could revolutionize the home / office building meme — fireproof and earthquake proof buildings?

Ahh, to be a young injineer again with these “paints” on your “palette”!

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Talking about !

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

https://www.ted.com/talks/rose_george_let_s_talk_crap_seriously

Let’s talk crap. Seriously.
By Dan Dennett

*** begin quote ***

Sometimes mentioning the unmentionable is a major step forward. Rose George’s witty, fact-filled talk about the problems we can solve if only we start taking shit seriously is just such a step. Human excrement is not just a major source of disease; it also can be a source of remarkably effective medical treatments, and of energy. Putting poop where it can do good rather than harm is surprisingly easy and inexpensive once we clear away the myths and taboos.

It’s often said that water will be in the 21st century what oil was in the 20th century, and among the most effective ways of preserving and enlarging freshwater supplies worldwide are revolutions in how we dispose of our excrement. It’s mainly social attitudes that stand in the way of adoption of these practices and systems. So here’s a great opportunity for social activists to participate in the meme-spreading that could wipe out the shit-spreading that’s fouling the environment. Don’t preach, don’t teach; reach out, in the ways Rose suggests.

*** end quote ***

When I was a young fat old white guy injineer, there were a lot of jokes about “sanitary engineering”, but we learned how essential it is to human survival.

It’s sad that some MANY children die from “easily” preventable causes.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: What3Words digital addresses

Thursday, February 9, 2017

https://www.cnet.com/news/what3words-digital-addresses-tonga-sint-maarten-island/#ftag=CAD590a51e

What3Words digital addresses spread to island nations
For countries with missing or broken postal address systems, assigning three-word labels to every geographic spot on the planet can be useful.
Tech Industry
by Stephen Shankland
February 3, 2017 2:51 PM PST 

*** begin quote ***

But it’s not perfect: You need a phone or computer to translate the three words into a physical location, there’s no What3Words support in popular navigation tools like Google Maps, and adjacent patches have totally unrelated names so you can’t tell what country a three-word label is in, much less what neighborhood.

*** end quote ***

There’s no doubt to any reader here that I LOVE this idea.

All that’s needed it that (1) Google get behind it; (2) the adjoining “words” be know on the map; and (3) the Gooferments of the world get behind it.

Amazon, Walmart, and most post offices could save time, money, and confusion with it.

FROM “dinner.sizes.chat”, see you soon.

# – # – # – # – # 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: NFL suggestions

Tuesday, February 7, 2017
NFL suggestions —
  • Depoliticize
  • Eliminate the psuedo patriotism
  • Lower the prices
  • Shorten the games
  • Start night games earlier (I have a bedtime)
  • Innovate the challenge system (Need them to get the calls right.)
  • Not every stoppage in play is not a time for 2 minutes of commericals
  • Prohibit “repetitious” commercials. (Same product or service ok; just need a different commercial for it. Repetition leads to “tune out”)
  • Less talking heads; more action.
  • Less pre-game and post-game
  • Fewer meaning less games
  • A “mercy rule” for the fans — down 40-3 in the last quarter; games over. (maybe first to 50 points)
  • Overtime needs to go until there’s a win. (Ties are like kissing your sister.)
  • Stop demeaning women by giving them meaningless on air on field “interviews”. 
Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 
 
A New Playbook 
The NFL is searching for new ways to tighten its grip on the public’s attention. Ahead of Sunday’s championship matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday plans to use his annual state-of-the-game press conference to stress that the league is serious about making changes amid steep ratings declines and other problems. The NFL has begun experimenting with shuffling the way ads appear in game broadcasts, and is considering making the weekly lineup of games easier to find on television as well as tweaking the pace of the sport itself. The move to shake things up comes after a season in which average viewership per game fell 8% overall and some teams played before ugly patches of empty seats in stadiums as sold tickets went unused.
 
# – # – # – # – #  

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »