--Jack
NC State has developed computer vision programs that can keep a car in a lane on a highway. Dr. Wesley Snyder says they have gone even farther, "our program maintains an awareness of multiple lanes and traffic in those lanes.” (See the NC State Newsroom article linked in the title for more details)
How will traffic look in five to ten years if most of the cars we encounter on the road have such "auto pilot" controls or safety systems? I was tempted to think in idyllic terms, but I'm not so sure. To many drivers out there want to be ahead of everyone else. We see them passing the queue in the exit lane only to signal and squeeze/merge in at the last minutes just to be a few car lengths ahead of where they were before. I'm often tempted to write a traffic simulation. Then I think about what behavior I would need to model to make it a good predictor of actual traffic patterns. It always comes down to observing that lawfulness is inversely related to a selfishness or "self-importance" factor.
My computer traffic model dreams are almost always sparked by an interchange or intersection that seems to be poorly designed. Occasionally it is a tangent to answering how we as a driving community can exert social pressure upon badly behaved drivers to make them conform to driving laws and courtesy. Ah, a proverbial "tail-pipe" dream. Yes, sucking in the exhaust from the big belching behemoths called SUV's may contribute to these fanciful cogitations of cordial commuters.
Okay, NC State University, here is my challenge to you. Build a computer vision program that recognizes the cars and their license plates, combine it with observing the speed and noting unsafe driving actions of the other vehicles and add wireless Internet access to post these driving statistics to twitter. Then we can enjoy driving again as our cars with your computer vision identify hazardous drivers and give us a heads up display. It only needs one graphic, like the yellow first down line for football, just project the clearly visible words "stupid driver" onto the cars that have logged bad behaviors in twitter.
Then again perhaps yellow is not the best choice in this pine pollen drenched state.
--Jack
--Interuption. I'll have to come back and finish this later.--
So, I'll add one medal to this post. And a sincere Thank you to Stephanie and Franklin.
--Jack
I began my reply but then, like driving onto a patch of ice, my control of direction was stripped from me. I was researching lists of virtues and even found the scouts oath/promise and laws we teach our boys and girls. At some point in reading them I was convicted of failing to following what I was reading. I will recount my sliding path for you. Perhaps we can learn to spot the icy patches in our lives.
Decency has become less and less common. Good sense is no longer using it's middle name, common. Face it! We live in a "Me, now!" world where every one is taught to stand out and not be common.
Is it time to morn the death of these two family members? Which of their siblings still survive them?
I was about to join in the lamenting of the poor parking practices of people I didn't know. It suddenly occurred to me I wasn't being friendly or kind, nor was I brave or helpful. The world we live in is far from perfect. We continually hear news of tragedy and horror. It is difficult to be brave and extend an invitation to be friendly to a stranger. It is easier to be courageous in a group, like in a social mixer for "bus stop neighbors" at a local café or bookstore.
A discussion of weather and the recent snow could lead to talking about narrow roads and limited parking. One could lament that there is barely enough space for three cars at the bus stop and that each driver would need to be good at parallel parking.
I don't often have to Parallel Park and I realized a short time ago my skills had nearly disappeared. I have since made an effort to practice and I can again triumphantly smile at the 6 inch gap between my tires and curb. I must remember, however, no to gloat about it because I do drive a Saturn and it is uncommonly well suited for those short parking spaces that are often the only ones available.
--Jack
--Jack
I once was programmer, database administrator and systems analyst. My career moved up a notch to network administrator and database programmer. I again upgraded to network field engineer. Then I became a network professional in a large team that managed one of the top three global, financial, data networks.
Stress can be much like the heat of the sun, get too much and your health may suffer.
Now I am happy and more fulfilled as a senior helpdesk analyst.
I really like being able to directly help people.
--Jack
May 31, 1985, is a day that has changed me; forever. Thunderstorms never bother me much; I can still sleep through the biggest and noisiest of them. But when they bother me now, it is a sign to my wife and children to stay close and be ready to seek shelter. After that day I will forever know when the conditions are just right for a tornado. I know it in my bones.
I mean that it is my body that seems to recognize the conditions before I even think about it. It is strange when your brain has to figure out why your body has released adrenaline. It all comes back in a heart beat and I remember and I know what to look for and what to do if I see the signs.
I was in Albion, PA, shopping at the IGA with my mom when the weather turned. The heavy rains and winds had stopped and I was suddenly very edgy and just wanted to leave. I don't know what my mom saw in my face when I suggested we hurry up and leave, but she stopped with her list still incomplete. We checked out and left the store before the rain started up again. We were barely half a mile out of town when I saw what I thought was the thickest column of gray smoke I'd ever seen rolling across the sky. It was just visible in the top left corner of the windshield and I followed the column to the left and finally recognized it as a tornado. It met the ground not more than 1000 feet south of the road we were on; a raised roadway that was about 30 feet above the fields on either side as we approached the ridge ahead.
It passed us. The radio hadn't mention more than severe thunder storms. I wanted to race back into town to warn people. But I realized there was nothing I could do.
An hour or so later I returned to town to help, so much was just flattened and I couldn't figure out which street was which except by knowing the relative position to State Street and the Bessemer and Lake Erie railroad. I remember seeing one house standing in the middle of a four block area that once had some forty houses or more and many trees. It was alone and I recognized it as the home of my high school chemistry teacher. They were all safe. I helped them repair their home in the following days.
That day Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York, and Ontario had been hit with the most tornadoes in one day in recorded history. "In that one day, the Commonwealth suffered more deaths from tornadoes than were recorded from 1916 to 1985!" There were 12 deaths in my home town and over 80 across the tri-state area. More than 40 tornados were confirmed, with about five reaching the highest Fujita scale rating of F5.
The day the twisters came an article appearing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 20 years later.
National Weather Service - Cleveland, Ohio Office information on the May 31, 1985 Outbreak.
