I love my GPS and use it whenever I’m going to a new place. Last night I had to go photograph a band at a small club in San Francisco so I programmed the address into my GPS. I also used it to get home since the one-way streets in San Francisco can be confusing at night. Like most users I have a place called Home in my GPS address book. Handy, but is that really safe?
There was story in the news a few months back about thieves breaking into cars at long-term airport parking lots and stealing GPS devices from the cars. The thieves know the owner is away and may even have observed the family leaving for a family vacation. What better time to break into a house when the family is on vacation. Even better, if there is a GPS in the car, there is a good chance it has a Home favorite that leads directly to the goodies.
The take-away here is to not have a Home favorite or entry in your GPS address book. All you need to do is change the name to something else: Bob’s home; Doctor; Church. (If you travel a lot the thief may wonder why you’re going to Church every other day if he/she looks through your GPS Recent/History entries.) If you really want to be really careful, don’t use your GPS to lead directly to your house, but some place close. I changed mine to a shopping center two miles from my house.
It’s also not a good idea to have anything left in your car that has your home address. I think it’s safe to block out your address on your car registration and proof of insurance forms. If you are ever questioned, you can say you did it for security reasons.
Technology is a great time-saver but you need to be careful. Be safe out there!
73’s, Tom
We all have seen those cameras at red light intersections. We all have slammed on our brakes when we do see one if fear of Big Brother mailing us a bill for our “transgression”. At intersections with no camera we usually just go on through a yellow light, safely I might add. Basically the cameras which we are told are there for public safety are there to generate revenue for the county or city, whichever the case may be. There are many studies out that state that more accidents happen at red lights with cameras than occurred without them there. Just google it. The only study I found that suggested that the cameras reduce accidents was research done by a group connected to the insurance industry. Hmmm, I wonder what they have to gain from more traffic violations and accidents? I have even seen reports that the time between yellow light and red light is decreased so more people get caught! Boy they are really looking out for the little guy! I’m all for safety but I can count on one hand the times I have seen a blatant red light infraction that was dangerous. 99% of the time people are just trying to go through a yellow instead of slamming on the brakes.
Technology is great so when it is used to keep the public safe I like it even more. But when it is used by people who have an incentive to do things that are immoral it is a dangerous tool. If you ask the average person they will tell you that 95% of politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt or at least have questionable character. So how can you trust that they have your best interest in mind when installing cameras at red lights? I can not trust them. The facts show that cameras cause more accidents so there is no excuse to continue using them. The powers that be must have seen this data so why not take action to keep the roads safer? I am afraid they do not want to let go of the cash cow that the cameras bring. People who ignore this data just to bring money into their coffers are sick humans indeed. Think about this the next time you see something about a new technology the government has to catch criminals or keep us safe. They may just need some $$$.
I read an article this morning touting the safety of the Smart Car, the tiny two-person, just shy of 9-foot car in production by Daimler. The Smart twofer did well in crash tests, achieving an overall rating of “good.”
But that’s not what caught my attention about the article. No, what caught my eye was the touted gas mileage the Smart twofer gets. “Up to” 31 mpg in the city, and 40 on the highway. We all know those factory-touted numbers are inflated; actual mileage is usually 3-5 points less. This means the Smart twofer, in reality, probably gets about 28 or 29 mpg city, and 37 or 38 highway.
Color me not impressed. My 1989 Toyota Corolla Wagon regularly gets 30 mpg in the city, and 40 on the highway. That’s with the air conditioner running! And I can fit four people easily in my Toyota, and carry cargo as well. I’m not sure what my Toyota is supposed to get in mileage, I just know that in the year and a half I’ve owned it I’ve been happy with the mileage it gets.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting awfully tired of hearing “gets 25 miles to the gallon” like that’s a good thing. My 1967 four-door Ford Fairlane got 25 mpg city, and that was back in the early 80’s. When they can start advertising 50 miles to the gallon, or at the very least, 40 miles to the gallon, in most cars, we’ll be getting somewhere.
In the meantime, I’m growing less and less impressed with the Smart Car. It’s not cheap to buy, and doesn’t get good enough miles per gallon to even pay for that extra cost over the years you would own it. I’ll stick with my Toyota, thanks.
The Telegraph has published the results of its poll on the 100 most beautiful cars of all time. The list is dominated by English and Italian cars, which may partly be due to a natural bias of The Telegraph being a UK paper, but I cannot find much fault with their judgment (although I would have put the Aston Martin DB 5 a couple of places higher, and the Alfa Romeo 8C would be #1 in my book.
It is fact that the English and the Italians make the most beautiful cars (and their share of shockers as well). If only they made reliable ones 
Bought Any Illegal Software From A Spammer, Lately?
The offer advertised in that e-mail message is awfully tempting. Microsoft Windows XP Professional for only $39? The entire Microsoft Office Professional suite for less than a few sawbucks? It’s real software, isn’t it? Well it sure is, and it’s a lot more, too.
Read the rest of this entry »
How many times have you been sitting in traffic cussing out a traffic light that changed, with no other cars in the other intersection. It happens here in Hawaii “ALL THE TIME”. These idiot traffic engineers here have not a clue what a timed traffic light is.
When I lived in Guam I loved driving at night because all you had to do was flash your high beams at a RED light and it would change if no traffic was detected coming the other way. It was common to see cars start flashing their high beams when they were 500 ft away to try and get the lights to change quicker. Guam is a small place but has twice as many cars as people so traffic was always a problem so smart lights were appreciated.
Seems their has been some research on this front and municipalities would be smart to listen to what it being said. [Smart Mobs]
I can only say that I am thankful that they did not have a blackbox that could have been installed in my vehicles as a 16 year old. My dad probably would have pulled my drives license the first week. I somehow survived that but it seems now parents can have a tracking device installed in their kids cars to make sure they are driving the speed limit and not doing some of the real dumb things many of us did that we where lucky to survive. (Yes Eric, I remember that pass on the right)
To be honest with my oldest child fast approaching driving age I cannot see doing this to her, after all the grades a fantastic and her head has not turned to mush. I will see what happens in the next 18 months but hopefully I will not have to resort to such extreme measures. [Engadget]
Imagine having a van that had 13 cameras and took a picture every 15 feet. The applications are unlimited I would love to have them drive thru my grandfathers property this would give me a visual record of what state the property is in. Do this every few years and you would have one heck of a record. BUt think about using it for homeland security etc. Insurance adjusters like it and homeland defense does to. [Yahoo News]
With one of the most comprehensive construction projects over, the city of Boston is about to experience a renaissance of sorts in that the Big Dig has finally come to a conclusion. It should make the boston experience more enjoyable. 10,000 years from now if where still around someone is going to look back at the architecture required to make it happen and say wow. [CSM]
I am one of the very fortunate people that live in Hawaii that when I leave for work at 6am the direction I am driving is away from downtown and traffic is light. I am able to quickly jump on the expressway and enjoy a beautiful drive across to the other side of the Island. Total commuter time from when I walk out the front door till I sit down at my desk 25 minutes.
On the other hand I have co-workers who leave there homes 1 hour earlier than I do and arrive at the same time. That is my definition of commuter hell. For those of you that live in and around San Francisco many would label that 90 minute commute as life.
The traffic has gotten so bad here in Hawaii that they are thinking of putting in a rail system (20 years to late) it has gotten some bad press but I think it is a wonderful idea.
My wife and I have been talking of buying a new home as our family is outgrowing our current home. The area we can afford to buy in is close to the area that the rail would originate. I am all for it but local populace would rather suffer through gridlock than have section of the rail raised as they are afraid it will reduce the beauty of Hawaii. The State has a hard decision to make taxes will have to be raised but I hate the idea of having to wait 5-10 years for them to get it built. I will suffer in my current home versus fighting the traffic.
I envy those that do have speedy mass transit with easy access points. I do not qualify riding the bus as speedy as Hawaii has a wonderful bus system but it competes with other motor vehicles.
It is nice to know that some of you are finding ways to make your mass transit time productive. [ZDNet]
Ever wondered what technological advancements are taking place with automobiles these days. Well look no further. The Audi A8 L has my total geek attention. The $68,000 Audi features solar panels that heat and cool the interior when it’s not running and an instrument panel that sports a LCD media center. Read full story here [WIRED]
