Month: February 2007

  • This Week in Traffic: 19 February 2007

    Vista Traffic

    At least one person thinks Windows Vista is cool because of some of the plugins.

    Traffic Circle Stories

    Doahleigh describes the fun at her traffic circle in Jackson, Michigan. From her description, I assume that this is indeed a traffic circle and not a modern roundabout. A roundabout would have fewer signs and no driveways.

    Road Passion?

    In a stark contrast to road rage, a couple in Jerusalem holds up traffic while having sex.

    Traffic Calming

    Traffic Calming standards are still in their infancy. Here is James Robertson’s take on the measures near his home in Maryland.

    Cyburbia.org

    I stumbled across this website in a web search. I have not perused it in detail, yet, but it seems to have good information for people interested in Urban Planning topics.

  • Math!

    The math majors in my circle of friends and family won’t appreciate this, but everyone else will…

  • This Week in Traffic: 16 February 2007

    Traffic Calming

    Businesses often have objections to traffic calming devices, warranted or not. I have never gone looking for before/after studies dealing with business numbers.

    Officer Goes Below and Beyond

    A California police officer ejaculates on a driver. “I’m not wearing any pants. Film at eleven.”

    Personal Rapid Transit Smackdown

    Ken Avidor has bad things to say about Personal Rapid Transit.

    More from Santa Cruz

    As mentioned in an earlier posting, Santa Cruz, CA has a contentious population. Apparently, however, an advisory panel consisting of 77(!) people is beginning to pall on even those citizens

    Stuck in the Snow

    Just yesterday, I was telling a friend that it had been 1998 when last I experienced real snowfall. At least, I haven’t had to deal with being stuck on a highway for 24 hours.

    Teen Driving Restrictions Save Lives

    AAA has released a study indicating that restrictions on teen driving lead to fewer fatal crashes.

    States with the nation’s toughest teen driving laws have more than a third fewer crashes causing death or injury involving 16-year-old drivers, according to the study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

    I’m in favor; my 15 year old sister is not. I can vote; she can’t

  • Imagine, If You Will…

    …what this device is for. Especially in this context. NOT my bedroom, just so you know.

  • J.K. Rowling has Finished

    J.K. Rowling has finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She apparently likes this book best of all seven.

    Ms. Rowling has this to say on her website. I quote it in its entirety, because she doesn’t seem to have an archive for past comments and I don’t want you to miss it. (more…)

  • This Week in Roses/Traffic: 14 February 2007

    Miami

    Did you know Miami is the southeastern U.S. port of entry for the majority of fresh produce? If you live Kentucky, most of your fridge is shipped (by truck!) from Miami. Think about that the next time you go to the grocery store.

    Miami is also the nations largest port of entry for fresh flowers. Check out this mornings story on Morning Edition no, I’m not a latte-drinking, volvo-driving NPR-listening Hippie. That’s my wife. I just listen to NPR without the rest of that stuff

    Some Seasoning for your Road?

    In an otherwise dry report, the Belleville News Democrat compares road de-icing to table seasoning.

    In all, the Missouri Department of Transportation has used 240,000 tons – which is enough to cover the yearly table salt demand of Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Tennessee.

    Arggh. This is like those comparisons the Discovery channel uses when they want you to think something is REALLY big. “Almost 100 million millimeters!”

    Beltway Omelet

    A trucker on the I-495 beltway around Washington D.C. overturned and spilled 165,000 eggs. “Karbonski said it looked like a large omelet on the road.” At least this officer can attach a cogent metaphor.

    No Bi-Fuel in HOV

    In the dry-but-interesting category, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano issued an order prohibiting bi-fuel vehicles in HOV lanes. State legislators object to what they see as an executive authority overstep.

    Traffic Data Sampling Through Your Cellphone

    It keeps getting closer. As the computing power of the cellphone increases, and as data gathering techniques mature, the cellphone is becoming the leading choice for collecting real-time traffic data.

    Atlanta Traffic Hockey Day

    The Gwinnet Gladiators are having a traffic-themed game on the 24th of February, as reported by Hockey Rants. Check out the jersey!

  • Happy Valentine's Day!

    A friend recently reported that a customer called the restaurant where he works. Here is the paraphrased conversation:

    Friend: “Good evening. May I help you?”
    Customer: “Are the clocks set correctly on your registers? I’ve a receipt here that says 7:45 by I know I was there at 8:30.”
    Friend: “I’ll check, sir.”

    Friend: “Yes, sir, the clocks are all correct.”
    Customer: “Well, my wife wants to know where I was for that 45 minutes and I want you to tell her that I was at the restaurant!”

    Ahhh, fidelity.

    In that vein, there was a Monday article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about how Valentine’s Day is especially busy for private investigators (reg. req’d). A lot of cheating spouses can’t resist meeting their paramours on February 14th. In the spirit of euphemism and innuendo, here is a quote from the article.

    [The private investigator] checked into the room next door, and through the thin walls, captured what she euphemistically described as ‘a lot of audio.’ “They’d go out to eat, come back, and we’d catch some more audio,” she said.

  • Robert Jordan

    As mentioned in my post of April 7, 2006, Robert Jordan, the author of The Wheel of Time, was diagnosed with amyloidosis and has been undergoing treatment since May.

    Silly me, I had figured that the Tor website where I first caught the news would occasionally have updates, at least to say, “He’s not dead yet.” I continue to be unimpressed by Tor’s web presence. They need to take some pages from the manual of Baen Books.

    I apparently haven’t been shopping around the right web spaces. An article in Forbes brought me up to speed. It covers the difference between a fan and a FAN. The first type likes RJ’s books and the second is willing to donate bone marrow for his treatment.

    Latest prediction is that the last book will be out in 2009, at some obscenely high page-count. RJ has stated in my presence that there will be only one more book, if we have to wheel it out of Barnes and Noble with a handcart.

    Hopefully, RJ’s illness will go into complete remission and he will be able to get back to the writing that he loves. Personally, if it is a choice between the man’s life and the end of the Wheel of Time, I say that he should concentrate on recovery.

    Robert Jordan’s struggle with amyloidosis and other things is chronicled in his blog.

  • LEGOs Rule!

    I’m not one of those adults that does crazy things with LEGOS like make Serenity from scratch

    If I were, this would make my year.

  • This Week in Traffic: 9 February 2007

    Information Overload

    Traffic congestion information hotline may cause more congestion, according to an advocacy group.

    Riotous Fun

    In Dubai they paint cars. In the western european tradition, Americans break stuff.

    Signal Back Door?

    Someone claims that certain signal hardware can be forced to change phase by activating the pedestrian pushbutton in a specific manner. I’ll have to try it out and see. Thanks to Kristin for sending this to me. Hi Kristin!

    Wearing a Helmet is Dangerous

    Apparently drivers won’t respect a bicyclist as much if they are wearing a helmet.

    Come Back Later

    If you’re a public service employee who doesn’t want to work, just make up your own civil service rules.